My Dreams, Love and Family
by leeniejs
Summary: Sanji meets a beautiful girl in town. But he soon realizes her past is anything but desirable. Something is going on in this town and Sanji doesn't like it. Luffy asks her to join the crew. Takes place soon after Lovely Land. Episode 335. SanjixOC rated M for some swearing and mentions of adult themes. Story is complete.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A cloaked figure follows a deserted tree-lined path. This path leads to the top of the only hill on Arch Island. The figure is some what tall, covered head to toe in a dark hooded cloak. The figure pauses for a moment. The hood, which had previously been pointed toward the ground, tilts to the right. Stepping off the path and into the bushes, the shadow knelt down to find a blue jay with a broken wing. A pale hand extends toward the shivering bird and gently strokes the plumage atop the bird's head. The figure picks up the bird carefully. Holding the bird in one hand the figure continued it's trek up the hill.

Upon the Thousand Sunny

"Island ahead!" Usopp shouts from the crows nest down to the crew. He focuses his goggles to further examine the island. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary he climbs down to the deck.

"Thank kami we finally entered a summer climate again. All that cold weather was starting to chap my skin. " Nami started rubbing at a particularly dry patch of skin on her shoulder just beyond the strap of her bikini. She started swooning over the possibility of more maps to add to her rapidly growing collection. Not to mention the best skin lotion that money could buy. Chopper lifted himself over railing of the ship. Dangling his feet, he held himself up with his arms, his hooves grasping the edge to keep him aloft.

"What is everyone going to do when we get to the island?" Chopper asked his fellow crew mates, looking around with a smile on his face. Franky pointed to himself with his thumb and answered immediately with his unusually high energy.

"Supa! I need to collect some supplies to make more weapons!" Usopp quickly agreed to accompany Franky for the same reason. Stars lit in his eyes when he thought of his newest idea for a long ranged weapon. Seeing the bright and thriving island seemed to have staved off his perpetual case of 'I-can't-go-to-this-island disease.'

Zoro was not fazed by the exuberance of his crew mates. "I need a new sword. I haven't been able to replace it since that freak rusted it with his devil fruit powers."

"We've started to run out of perishables. I will need to buy more food at the market." Sanji stated this after a draw on his cigarette. Having only recently started on their journey on the Thousand Sunny they shouldn't need to buy much. But due to the fact that Luffy ate as much as the rest of the crew all together, Sanji needed to restock the kitchen.

Luffy jumped up on the railing of the ship to get a better look at the island. "I'm going to find the closest restaurant and eat!" He shouted putting his hands in the air. A few of the crew members sighed at the predictability of their captain.

"I want to see if they have any new medical technology. I also need to gather more bandages. It seems like we never have enough." Chopper's eyebrows contracted at this thought before his face suddenly lit up. "Maybe they have some medical texts that I have been looking for!" Robin smiled lightly down at chopper.

"If you are going to the book store I will accompany you. One can never have enough books. Each island we come across has the chance of holding a book we have never seen before."

They quickly docked their ship and headed towards their respective destinations. Sanji began by wandering around the market observing all the things he could possibly buy. He preferred to see everything the island had to offer before he bought anything. He didn't want to spent all of his money in one place. He always regretted the day he had no money left to buy a rare spice that was unique to only one island. He was taking a closer look at the fruit stand when a scene at the bread stand next to him caught his eye. He raised his visible eyebrow in curiosity.

"Please sir, I just need a loaf of bread. I can pay you for it, see?" A hooded figure held out a sphere of what appeared to be pure gold. Sanji could see it from where he was standing. It was flawless. About the size of a marble, it was polished so meticulously that it looked more like a small golden mirror.

The shop keep glared under the hood. Sanji switched his attention to the man standing behind the piles of fresh bread. The look of disdain on the man's face was more appropriate for finding something disgusting at the bottom of one's shoe. Sanji couldn't see why anyone would look at a fellow human being in such a way. There is no excuse for such rudeness. Sanji was about to speak up when the man spoke to the hooded figure. Sanji was shocked into silence at the tone of the man's voice. He spoke to the figure as if he were scolding a dog.

"I don't sell my wares to the likes of you. I have no use for anything made by black magic." The man slapped the gold ball out of the proffered hand. With a small gasp the other hand came up and clutched the scolded hand to the figure's chest. The gold ball rolled the few steps to Sanji's feet. "Get out of my sight!" With a shove, the man caused the figure to fall backwards and land on their back side with a sharp gasp. The figure barely had enough time to throw out their hands to catch themselves from smacking their head on the ground.

With a flutter the hood fell back to reveal the mysterious face. Sanji's eyes widened and he lost the cigarette in his mouth when his jaw dropped. A woman more beautiful than he had ever seen was laying on the ground just feet from him. He was so stunned he couldn't even move to be the gentleman he always was and help the poor woman. Her hair was as white as freshly fallen snow, straight and long tucked into her cloak to hide it's real length. Shorter strands framed her oval face, stopping at different lengths around her small chin. Her nose was short and straight. Her whole face was a pale peach color. But the fair color of her hair and skin made her eyes that much more noticeable. Her eyes were the color of evergreens. The eyelashes were long enough to touch her cheeks when she closed her eyes.

Her eyes remained distant, as if she was trying to keep herself from feeling embarrassment at the situation. She kept her eyes locked on the ground avoiding the gazes of the villagers around her. When Sanji looked up he realized that most people were avoiding looking at her. A few of the villagers threw her glances like the shop keeper. Their eyes suggested that she was unworthy of the time it took to spare a look her way. She stood up quickly and threw the hood back over her head. Turning away from Sanji she started walking.

Only after her second step away did he realize he could move again. He was torn between scolding the bread maker or going after her. Taking a second to weigh his options, he decided on a different course of action. He stooped down quickly to grab the ball at his feet and pocketed it. He hurried the two steps to the bread stand and quickly dug out his wallet to pay for a loaf of bread. Glaring at the bread maker as he handed over the money, he made a mental note not to shop here in the future. The man selected a loaf of bread and bagged it. Handing it to Sanji, the man wished him a good day. Scowling and mentally calling him names he grabbed the bread and hurried off in the direction the woman was headed. He would have taken the time to give the man a lesson in manners to a lady if he hadn't been afraid of loosing her in the crowd. He scanned the scene in front of him trying to pick out her figure. Another minute of walking on the same road lead him out of the market and into the housing part of town. It was much less populated here so he quickly saw her ahead of him. Walking quickly he caught up to her in no time.

"Well hello, beautiful lady!" he nearly shouted at the woman when he caught up to her near the edge of town. The woman didn't even acknowledge he was there. He fell into step right next to her and repeated the exclamation, making sure she heard. She whipped around frightened. Studying her face carefully, he realized two things. Firstly she was genuinely surprised and startled which meant she hadn't heard him the first time. Secondly, she almost seemed scared. Her eyes kept darting to different sides as if looking for an escape route. So he decided to dial down his usual flamboyant spirit so he didn't scare her off.

"Hello. I'm Sanji. I saw that you left this back there." He held up the gold ball. She gazed at him for a moment before taking the ball with a small thank you.

"May I ask your name? A woman as radiant as yourself must have a name to compliment such beauty." Her eyebrows knitted together as she looked at him.

"Mezumi." She said quietly. She looked like a scared little fawn eager to run back to her mother.

"Mezumi-chan. Well I suppose I was right. Your name is beautiful." He paused, remembering why he was there. He held out the bread wrapped in a paper bag. "Here. I over heard you needed bread." Internally he scolded himself. He sounded like a stalker. A stalker with a substandard vocabulary. Despite his feelings towards his own words he smiled lightly at her.

She shook her head. "Thank you, but I don't take hand outs."

"I insist. It is the least I could do to help a woman that was treated so poorly by the shop keep. I am nothing if not a gentleman." She considered him for a moment. Looking slightly defeated and reluctant she took the bread from his out stretched hand.

"Did the villagers put you up to this?" A cold look covered her face so quickly, his smile disappeared.

"Why would they do that?"

Her face slowly changed from cold to indifferent. "You are not from around here." It wasn't a question.

"No, I just arrived this morning. I'm the cook of the ship that just docked here." She seemed ready to leave. Sanji thought for a moment. He didn't want to say goodbye to Mezumi yet. "It's nearly lunch time. Please accompany me back to my ship and I will make you lunch." He said with a smile.

"No, I couldn't. You have done far too much for me already. In fact you should take this as payment for the bread." She held out the gold ball he had just returned to her.

"It would be a great insult to turn down a meal offered by the cook himself. And I will not be taking any sort of payment from you."

"You make it sound like I have no choice." She raised an eyebrow at this.

"Mezumi-chan, you always have a choice." Sanji looked intense.

She searched his eyes as he waited for an answer. Sanji didn't know what she was looking for but she must have found it. She nodded and finally pocketed the gold ball he handed her a moment ago. They started on their way to the Thousand Sunny. They took the main road past all the shops when Sanji realized that she had her hood up and her head down again. He noticed they were getting disapproving looks from passers-by again. Since he had received no such looks when he was alone, he could only assume their looks were directed at this woman. In turn the looks were thrown at him for choosing to treat her like a decent human being. Soon enough they had reached the ship and Sanji lead her to the kitchen.

"Where is the rest of the crew?" She sat down at the farthest end of the table facing Sanji.

"They are all out shopping. We had to restock our supplies here." With that being said Nami walked in the door.

"Sanji-kun, I'm hungry." Nami stopped at the sight of an unfamiliar body at the table. "Who are you?"

"I'm Mezumi." She said quietly.

"Nami-swan this is Mezumi-chan, Mezumi-chan this is Nami-swan our navigator. She is joining us for lunch." Nami just shrugged. She sat down on the same side as Mezumi a few places away and started talking to Sanji about the new maps she had found, the weather and the next island among many other things. She hardly let Sanji get a word in. Mezumi just stayed silent choosing to stare at the table when she wasn't glancing around the room in interest. After a few minutes Chopper, Robin, Franky and Usopp walked in. Sanji made the necessary introductions as they sat down.

It was Robin that spoke to Mezumi first. "You must be from this island. Yet you wear a heavy cloak even in this mild weather." Mezumi looked nervous at being put on the spot by the woman sitting diagonal from her.

"I... prefer not to be seen." Mezumi stated blandly. Zoro and Luffy barged in the door of the kitchen. Zoro carrying Luffy by the collar of his shirt, yelling in Luffy's ear. Luffy looked uninterested as he rubbed his full stomach.

"...Told you before not to skip out on the bill. Soon there won't be any restaurant in the world that will serve you." Zoro yelled at Luffy as he threw him across the room. Landing on the opposite wall, Luffy looked like he might be sick at the thought of not being able to eat in a restaurant ever again. Zoro sat down across from Mezumi. Before he could do anything but give her a grumpy look Sanji walked in with a tray full of food.

"Mezumi-chan this is our captain Luffy and the marimo is the shitty swordsman."

"Who are you calling a marimo, you shit cook?"

"I don't see anyone else around with green hair. Are you blind as well as stupid?" Sanji started to lay down the food on the table.

"MEAT!" shouted Luffy from the head of the table. Despite the fact that he had eaten recently, Mezumi was surprised to see that he started to eat anything he could reach. He didn't bother to put it on his plate. Instead he chose to shove it in his mouth as quickly as possible. Only after his mouth was stretched farther than she though humanly possible, did he pause to chew. His hands, which had been preoccupied with shoving food in his mouth, now started to pile food on his plate higher and higher until he started placing food in his empty mouth again. Mezumi was so busy watching him that she wasn't aware of anything else until Sanji set a plate in front of her. Startled, she let out a small squeak of thanks that she hoped he heard. She looked down at her full plate. In front of Mezumi he placed a plate of steaming grilled salmon, white rice and mixed vegetables. The mere sight of it has her shaking in anticipation and the smell had her mouth watering. It looked so wonderful that for a second she didn't want to eat it and destroy it's beauty. Feeling both sad and hungry she picked up her fork and knife and cut into the salmon. Taking a bite she almost forgot she was in the company of others and shuddered at the taste. Barely repressing a moan of delight, her cheeks turning pink at the possibility, she continued to eat. Mezumi was hardly aware of their conversation of the days events. The crew shared the stories of the day. They told whoever was interested about their purchases from earlier.

Suddenly a hand appeared in the bowl of rolls in front of Mezumi. She looked up to see that the captain had stretched his arm across the full length of the table. Her eyes widened and she gasped. "What... H-How did..."

Luffy smiled widely. He grabbed both sides of his face and pulled each side out about a foot. "I'm a rubber man." Mezumi looked shocked to say the least. Luffy went back to stuffing his face.

Seeing the confused and surprised look on the girl's face, Nami rolled her eyes. "What Luffy is trying to say is that he is a power holder. He can manipulate his body as if he were made of rubber. That is what happens when someone eats a devil fruit."

"So there are a lot of stretchy people out there?" Mezumi asked.

"No each power is different." Usopp answered. "Chopper here used to be a regular reindeer. Now he is part human." He gestured to Chopper.

"It's true." Chopper said quietly, nervous around an unfamiliar person.

"So are all of you power holders?"

"No. I am the only other power holder among the crew." Robin smiled.

"What can you do?" Mezumi asked excited. A hand appeared in front of Mezumi's plate holding the bread bowl out to her. "That's amazing!"

With a mouth full of food Usopp turned to Zoro. "Zoro did you get a new sword?"

"No, the cheapest I could find was for 10 million Beri." Nami choked on her food.

"What? There is no way you are spending all our money on a sword! We need that for supplies!" Nami shouted.

"I know that! I also know that I can't protect your danger-prone ass without another sword! If it wasn't for that rust freak I would still have it!" Zoro was shouting louder than Nami.

"May I see the sword?" a small voice asked. Zoro looked to Mezumi in front of him. She blinked and tried to hide her fraying nerves from his sharp gaze. He unsheathed half a sword with a rusted end. Mezumi regarded the sword. She looked torn for a moment but she came to a decision when she spoke. "I can fix it for you."

"It's beyond repair. Any blacksmith could tell you that." Zoro looked at the rusted end.

"I mean it. I can fix it for you. Please, you have all been so nice to me. Let me repay your kindness."

"How do you expect to fix something that can't be fixed?" Zoro asked angrily. Mezumi flinched at his tone.

"I think I am a power holder too." No one spoke as the statement hung in the air.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"So what can you do?" Luffy said with surprising clarity considering he had a bone sticking out of his mouth. Mezumi held up her fork for all to see. She stared at it with a look of concentration. Each tine changed slowly from silver to a shiny yellow. The color spread from the tines down to cover the handle.

"I can manipulate objects to change their material and shape." The fork moved around until it became a spoon. Everyone stared with varying levels of shock or wonder. Nami had stars in her eyes.

"So you are saying you can make gold?" She was nearly drooling by the last word.

"Basically, yes." She turned the golden spoon back into a silver fork.

"Supa!" Everyone seemed to agree with Franky's statement.

"Will you let me fix this sword to pay back your kindness?"

"Yes! Then you can become part of our crew!" Luffy shouted. Mezumi looked taken aback.

"No, No I can't do that. This island is my home. I... I couldn't leave."

"Nope. You're joining." Luffy smiled. Mezumi chose to ignore his statements.

"I think I will just start fixing the sword now. Do you have any spare metal on your ship? It would make the job go faster."

"OW! I've got some spare pieces down in my workshop. Come take a look." Mezumi stood and followed Franky out the door to his work shop.

"It seems we will have another joining our crew." Robin stated with a smile.

"Yeah, It's hardly a secret that whoever Luffy wants on the crew will join sooner or later." Nami mused.

A short while later, Mezumi returned with some spare metal. She found Zoro in the kitchen. Only from this new point of view did she see three swords on his belt. Mezumi's eyebrows connected in confusion.

"Why do you need another sword if you already have two more?" Zoro looked up at her with a grumpy expression.

"I use three swords to fight." She looked skeptical and replied with mild sarcasm.

"Well it looks like you only have two hands. Why would you need another sword?"

"Are you going to fix my sword or what?"

"Well I need you to hand me your sword first. I can't work on it when it is still in it's scabbard." Zoro scowled. Without another word he pulled the sword out and tossed it to her. She caught it in her free hand as he went back to his food, staring at it with a bored look.

She left the kitchen in favor of sitting on the deck. She sat down cross-legged and leaned against the railing. Reconsidering her position she uncrossed her legs and balanced the sword hilt between her feet and laid the spare metal in her lap. Sanji exited the kitchen and walked over to sit down next to her.

"So how exactly are you going to do this?"

"Well I need a clean surface to work with so..." She traced her finger underneath the rusted part and it fell right off making a sharp sound on the deck. "Now I have to turn this metal into the same material the sword is made out of." She pointed to the metal in her lap. Sanji's eyebrows lowered as his eyes moved over her materials, also taking in her delicate hands. She continued. "Everything is made of protons, neutrons and electrons in varying amounts so, if I just add or subtract any of those I can create a new material. And having a similar material..." She tapped the spare metal with her finger. It made a low ping. "Will make it much quicker. As for changing it's shape that is much easier. I just have to move the atoms around to make a new shape." She put her hand on the edge of the metal, wrapping her hand around it, resting her fingers on the other side. The corner of the square piece of metal changed a slightly different color. Sanji could see the new metal slowly taking over the existing metal.

"It sounds to me like you are very well read." Sanji mused

"I used to go to the library everyday to learn as much as I could."

"So you have lived here your whole life?"

"Yes. I was born here." Her face held a neutral expression.

"Why do the villagers dislike you?" She over at him. His face was nearly a foot apart from hers. His grey-blue eye stared into her evergreen ones. She never liked lying, as she was never very good at it. Looking at him now she realized that Sanji could see through any lie she tried to tell. At least this once she wanted to tell the truth. Not for the fear of getting caught but maybe because she wanted to trust Sanji with the truth. She stared at him, mesmerized.

"They think I'm a monster. They have always treated me like that." She was so quiet. Sanji could barely hear her.

"All because of your powers?" She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. She turned her eyes back to the sword in front of her. She tried to ignore the intensity of Sanji's gaze.

"I don't know. I don't remember eating a fruit that did this to me. One of my earliest memories is being thirsty when suddenly the glass in front of me filled with water." There was a silence between them for a moment. Mezumi took this opportunity to focus on the task at hand. But a thought swam up into her conscious mind that needed to be revealed. "Thank you for lunch. It was the most delicious thing I have ever tasted." She was so sincere. Sanji couldn't help but smile.

"It was my pleasure Mezumi-chan." He sat back and watched her work for awhile. A good piece of the thin metal had changed into a new material at her hands. Sanji took the moment of her distraction to study her face. Her eyebrows were scrunched up in concentration. Her eye lids were slightly lowered showing her intense focus on her task. His expression softened as he studied her lips. Her bottom lip was pushed out slightly. It was hardly noticeable. If her hadn't been studying her face he never would have noticed it. Her pouting lips added to her expression giving the overall look of cuteness rather than determination. "What is your dream Mezumi-chan?" She was broken out of her concentration. Her pouting lips changed with her expression. Her lips parted slightly as her expression changed to one of contemplation.

"My dream? What do you mean?"

"Don't you have something that you want to do someday? An aspiration? A goal?" She just looked at him, hoping he would explain further. He sighed. "Have you ever heard of the all blue?" She nodded. "One day I am going to find it. Then everyone will know it's not just a legend. That is my dream."

"I suppose I never thought about what I would do in the future." She looked thoughtful for a moment. She detached the large piece of metal from the spare piece. Taking it in both hands she gently set it on top of the sword. The metal seemed to melt together as the two pieces fused together to make a few more inches on the sword.

"Then why don't you want to join the crew? Is it because we are pirates?"

"It doesn't matter to me that you are pirates. You are very kind and that is what matters. I don't want to join you because this island is my home. This is all I have ever known."

"Do you have family here?"

"No, I don't have any family. I'm an orphan. I've lived on my own for as long as I can remember."

"That's terrible." She sighed.

"I should be going home. I can come back in the morning to finish the sword." She had already completed about half of the sword. She set the metal and sword down for tomorrow.

"You are leaving so early?"

"Doing this really takes a lot out of me. It takes a lot of energy and concentration." Sanji noticed she did look exceptionally pale and tired.

"I will walk you home." Sanji stood up.

"No, that's not necessary. I'm not so weak that I need an escort. And I am sure you need to start dinner for everyone soon. I'll be fine." Sanji sighed.

"Wait just a minute then."

Obviously she didn't want his help. He walked toward the kitchen. Stepping inside he grabbed the loaf of bread her bought for her earlier. He stepped out and handed the package to her.

"Get some rest. We will see you in the morning."

"Goodbye." She waved to him as she walked away.

"Good night Mezumi-chan." Sanji could tell she was hiding something. He was determined to find out what it was.

The rest of his day was uneventful. Every time he passed the deck he would look over to see the half-made sword and scrap metal she had been working with. At dinner he was too busy thinking to notice Luffy and Usopp in an eating contest. Staring at his empty plate he turned his thoughts to Mezumi and all that he had learned about her. He couldn't figure out why one woman would be so hated. She was beyond beautiful she was stunning. He continued thinking while he cleaned up dinner. His body worked more on muscle memory than on brain power. Leaving him free to think more on this strange woman.

She was also polite. From what he could see from her interaction with Zoro earlier, he could tell she had a sense of humor. He also thought it was strange that he was so drawn to her. Much more so than any other woman he had ever met. Something surfaced in his mind. Beautiful. Attracting men. Was it possible she was a siren? Sanji shook his head, banishing the thought almost immediately. With all the strange things they had seen in their adventures he could easily let himself believe that this one woman was something other than human. Just because he had seen an island floating in the sky doesn't mean that he could come across a beautiful woman and accuse her of being a siren. He didn't have much information to go on. He would have to go to town to get more information tomorrow. After his mind was made up he decided to turn in early. He took off his over coat and hung it on a hook next to his bed. He noticed something in the pocket wasn't allowing the outside to lay flat. Dipping his hand into the pocket, he pulled out his hand to reveal the small gold ball from earlier. He stared at it, trying to puzzle out how it got there. She tried to offer the sphere to him for the bread. But he had refused. Rather than arguing with him she had just accepted the bread.

'She must have only accepted knowing she would find a way to leave this with me later.' He placed it back in his pocket and climbed under his blanket, still keeping his eyes trained on the object in his coat pocket. 'So, she is stubborn too.' With that thought he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Mezumi struggled up the dirt path to her home. She was breathing heavily and clutching her stomach. She was exhausted. She finally reached her door. Leaning against it, she pushed it open, lumbered inside and pushed it closed. She laid the bread down on the counter right next to the open drawer with the blue jay she found earlier. She tore a piece off and laid it in the drawer. Dragging her feet to her bed she fell onto it fully clothed. It was a good thing the bed was not far from the door because she didn't think she could make it another step. Breathing heavily, she closed her eyes trying to relax. She suddenly tasted bile in her mouth. Her eyes flew open as she threw her upper body over the side of her bed to be violently sick into a pail next to the bed. Several minutes of retching into the pail and more dry heaving after, she fell back into bed and promptly passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next morning Sanji woke with determination. He made breakfast for everyone and finished cleaning up. He quickly set out to buy the food they needed at the market. Bringing a small cart back with supplies, he wheeled it on the ship and set everything in place back in the kitchen. Mezumi was due to arrive sometime in the morning. As it was still early morning he figured he still had plenty of time to gather some information before she arrived at the ship. For the second time that day he set out to the market.

He started asking the shopkeepers about her. None were forth coming with anything useful. He heard plenty of rumors about her. She was a monster, a devil or a witch. One woman was trying to convince him that she drank the blood of anyone that dared look in her eyes. He sighed as he walked away from the woman still shouting at him to be wary of her. He stepped into a diner for a break. He sat down at a table and ordered a up of coffee.

"Good morning son. What brings you here today?" An old man in a suit was looking at Sanji with a friendly smile. The man looked to be in his late 50s by Sanji's guess. He had a full head of hair, but much of it was gray rather than the few strands of black that were still clinging to life. His suit was sharper than any he had seen on the island. Although most of the villagers wore street clothes rather than a formal suit.

"Just coming in to rest. I've been looking for information all morning." The waitress delivered his coffee.

"Well then look no further. I'm the town's mayor, Katsuo. I'm sure I can help you. What is your name?" Sanji took a sip of his coffee.

"I'm Sanji. I want to know more about a woman named Mezumi." The mayor's expression darkened. There were waves coming off of the man that Sanji couldn't place. He seemed to age ten years in just a few seconds. It wasn't hard to tell that this man hated Mezumi, much more than anyone else in the village.

"You don't want to deal with that one. I assume you heard about her from rumors. The rumors are all true. She is a monster. She lives all alone on top of the hill because no one wants to be around her. She is a thief and the daughter of a whore. 18 years she has spent on this island. 18 years too many. If you know what's good for you, you will forget you ever heard that name, boy."

Before Sanji could say anything Katsuo got up and left, slamming the door of the cafe shut behind him. He didn't believe the bad things about her. He had sat and talked with her. He could tell she was a terrible liar. She was all too honest. Something was going on and Sanji didn't like it. They were afraid of her powers. But an island in the New World that gets a lot of pirate and marine business must have come across many power holders. Sanji wasn't sure what to believe at this point but he knew she wasn't a monster. He finished and paid for his coffee.

He headed back to the ship with more questions than answers. Everyone knew her as a danger and something to avoid. It seemed no one but the rare shop keeper had ever interacted with her. He believed the stories were just rumors fed by a wild fire of lies. When one man told him of her interaction with the bread maker yesterday. The story had already spun out of control. Rather than the scene that Sanji had witnessed himself, it was widely believed that she had stolen both his money and his bread after injuring the seller. Sanji, gritted his teeth. He had always been an honest man. The lies on this island were pissing him off. His thoughts lead him back to the ship. Arriving on deck, he looked over to see her materials laying untouched where she left them last night. Mezumi should have been here by the time he got back. It was already past morning. Soon it would be midday. Sanji had a feeling of unease settle itself in his stomach. Thinking back to Katsuo's words he realized he let slip the location of her home. He needed to know why she hadn't come back. She said she would and she wasn't lying.

No sooner had he arrived on the deck, he turned around and left again. Once more he headed through the market and up the road that he had found her on yesterday. The houses on each side of him ended at the base of a hill. The stone path way under his feet ended as it began a foot path leading up the hill. Pausing momentarily to take in the scene of nothing but trees and brush, he continued up the foot path.

His walk was uneventful. The forest was full of life. Birds called, crickets chirped all around the trees and bushes. He found it difficult to believe that anyone lived here. Not long after that thought, the path stopped in a clearing containing an old hunting shack. Seeing as it was the only thing on the hill top it must have been what Katsuo was referring to. Feeling curious Sanji knocked. He heard nothing. He opened the door and let himself in. He found himself in a mud room with a small dresser. From the look of the out side there must only be this room and one main room to make up the shack. He saw the loaf of bread he had given Mezumi in the market yesterday laying on the dresser. A small chunk had been ripped out. However, a drawer was opened to find a small nest of cloth and straw with a bandaged blue jay in it, pecking away at the missing chunk of bread.

'She didn't even eat the bread. She just gave it to the bird' Sanji thought. 'Did she not eat it at all?' Sanji walked into the next room and saw Mezumi on the bed. He rushed over to her. He found her fully clothed lying halfway off the bed, shaking and pale. Next to the bed was a bucket full of what used to be food. She lurched up suddenly and began dry-heaving into the bucket. Sanji could do nothing but rub her back and wait for it to stop. She slumped back onto the bed drained of energy. Her face and neck were pale but her cheeks were crimson. Tears from exertion were in the corners of her closed eyes.

"Mezumi-chan what happened? What's wrong?" Sanji laid a hand on her face. Her cheeks were cold and clammy but her forehead was burning. Her eyes opened slightly as they tried to focus on him.

"Sanji." She said breathlessly. As if that one word stole the rest of her energy, her eyelids fell and her face turned sideways, succumbing to gravity. Sanji felt helpless but he knew if he could get her to Chopper, he would know what to do. Sanji quickly picked her up under her knees and her back taking a second to rest her head against his chest for her comfort he started running back to the ship. Ignoring everyone he passed by, he couldn't help but think that the first time she said his name had been a cry for help. Sanji wasn't thinking anything. He was too busy focusing on dodging people in his way and holding Mezumi against him.

Katsuo saw Sanji carrying the woman through the market place. From what he could see the woman looked very sick. He smirked. 'It's about time that bitch got what she deserved.' He decided this town had put up with her for too long. The time for action was long over due.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After what felt like an hour, Sanji was finally on the Thousand Sunny shouting for Chopper. Chopper was playing a card game with Usopp when he saw Mezumi laying limp in Sanji's arms. Chopper started panicking and running around.

"Doctor! Doctor! We need a Doctor!" Nami hit him over the head as he ran past her.

"Chopper you are the doctor. Now get your furry butt to the sick bay and find out what is wrong!" They hurried to the sick bay. Sanji lay Mezumi on the bed gently.

"What happened Sanji?" Chopper was all business when dealing with his patient.

"I don't know. I found her like this. By the time I found her she was dry heaving. I don't think she ate anything for dinner last night or breakfast this morning. She didn't have any energy left to tell me what was wrong."

Sanji explained all he knew about her condition while Chopper took blood for testing. He turned around to his work station to start testing her blood. Satisfied that his tests were in progress, he turned around to gather more information. He started with a few routine tests. He looked at her mouth and throat. Pressing his paw to her neck he checked her pulse. He felt the sides of her neck and under her chin. Sanji was uneasy to say the least. He kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other while clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. Every few seconds he became aware of what he was doing and attempted to stand still only to have the energy building up in him again.

Chopper unbuttoned her cloak to access a good spot for his stethoscope when he looked slightly confused. Pulling up her shirt enough to see her ribs Chopper was absolutely shocked.

"Oh Kami." Choppers face was grim.

Sanji was horrified. He didn't have to ask what was wrong. He could see how thin she was. Her stomach was concave. He could see every rib in fine detail. The skin stretched over each one showing shadows in between. Just above her pants he could see her hip bones through her skin. If it hadn't been for her ragged breathing he would have assumed she was already dead. Chopper turned around to look over her test results frantically.

"Chopper what's wrong with her? Is she going to be okay?" Sanji didn't take his eyes off her. Chopper took a few minutes to look over the test results. Chopper sighed as he looked at Sanji.

"She is experiencing refeeding syndrome. Fatal shifts in fluids and electrolytes..."

"In English Chopper!" He rounded on the doctor. He didn't mean to sound so rude. But the stress of the situation was getting to him.

"She has gone so long without a significant amount of food that eating so much yesterday at lunch caused abdominal pain, reflux and nausea." Sanji paled at the idea of his food making her sick.

"How long has she gone without food?" Chopper hesitated. He knew how important this was to Sanji. The thought of someone starving was unacceptable to him.

"Years, Sanji. She must have only gotten the bare minimum to live." Sanji felt bile rising up in his own throat. His fists clenched so hard he felt his nails digging into his palms.

He had starved for weeks when he was a kid. He would never wish that fate on anyone. She had starved for years with hardly a scrap of food. If he hadn't offered her lunch yesterday no one would have ever known.

"I will start the treatment immediately. Medicine and fluids to help replenish the substances in her body to the level they should be at naturally. Food will have to slowly be reintroduced to her. I think no more than a table spoon of food 3 times daily until her appetite improves. If all goes well she should be feeling better in a few weeks." Sanji couldn't handle being in this room any more. He turned to the door.

"Let me know when there is any news." With that Sanji left the room. He had a cigarette outside before going to the kitchen. Sanji was pissed beyond belief. To have an entire village attempting to starve one woman all because of some false rumors was unforgivable. Sanji needed to keep busy. He didn't want to think about anything. He needed to clear his mind. He set to work cleaning the kitchen while he waited to hear if Mezumi was making any progress. He focused entirely on cleaning but much too soon the kitchen was spotless. For once he cursed always keeping his kitchen clean. He still had too much energy. He walked out on deck and looked around. He over heard Chopper explaining what was wrong with Mezumi. He tried to keep the details general. He got away with explaining that she was sick and would need a special diet to make her healthy again. But Sanji didn't want to hear about it again. He was trying to avoid the situation till she was awake. He spotted the person he was looking for. Zoro was leaning up against the railing of the ship. With his arms crossed, he was pretending to be sleeping.

"What are you doing you worthless waste of space? Given up on your dream to be the world's best swordsman?" He knew insulting him would get Zoro's blood boiling. And an angry Zoro always lead to a fight with him. Despite the fact that everyone thought they hated each other, they didn't. They had an unspoken understanding that they could hate each other on the surface but they would be there for each other in a way. They were friends just like everyone else on the ship. But neither would admit to being friends with the other. Zoro opened one eye to look up at Sanji. Zoro wasn't exactly sure what Sanji wanted but he did know he was picking a fight. Zoro was more than happy to oblige.

"You are one to talk you shit cook. How can you claim to be a great cook when you can't even cook rice correctly?" With that Sanji swung his foot at Zoro's head. Zoro took less than a second to dodge and draw his remaining two swords. They spent the next half hour trading blows and insults. At the end of that half hour Sanji's pent-up energy was gone. Both were far from being out of breath but they were ready to call an end to their fight. They both turned around, Zoro putting his swords away and Sanji putting his hands in his pockets.

"Worthless marimo." Sanji started walking to the kitchen to start on a late lunch.

"Shit cook." Zoro sat back down and closed his eyes. Attempting to resume his nap from earlier.

Sanji made lunch and set down the food in front of the crew. He figured soup would be easy on Mezumi's stomach. He poured the newly made soup into a bowl before he frowned at it. He remembered she could only have a table spoon of food at one time. Staring down at the amber liquid in the bowl, he transferred a tablespoon of soup into a tea cup, set a spoon in it and set it aside. He sat down at the table with the remaining soup.

Over lunch he shared with everyone what he had discovered about her. The rumors, her state of living and even the strange things that Katsuo had said. Chopper had left immediately after he ate to continue monitoring his patient.

"I don't know why the entire village has been treating her like this. But it has effected her daily. She doesn't even have a dream." Sanji found this just as disturbing. "Have they abused her so much that she doesn't even dare to dream?"

"Yes and no, Cook-san." Robin interjected. "A psychologist named Abraham Maslow states that there is 'A Theory of Human Motivation'. He realized that humans have needs but not all needs are equal. The most important being physiological needs such as sleep, food and breathing. If our dear Mezumi-chan never had her dietary needs met then it would be difficult for her to think about higher needs such as safety, friendship or self confidence." Usopp looked up from his plate with a pensive expression.

"So basically she couldn't eat so she never even considered having friends or a dream?" Usopp asked.

"Basically." Robin echoed with a smile.

Chopper pushed open the door. "She's awake." Sanji stood up and grabbed the soup he made for Mezumi, Sanji was the first out the door. Throwing open the door to the sick bay he saw her looking, if possible, worse than before. Chopper had hooked her up to an I.V. line and several monitors. Sanji closed the door behind him, set down the cup and sat down next to her in the only chair.

"How long has this been going on?" He asked with a dark expression. She felt that it would be pointless to start lying now.

"My entire life. But it's not that bad. It's only spring. The plants haven't managed to grow yet. I usually live off the land when the seasons allow it. But in the winter I have to go through the shop garbage cans. It's really not as bad as you think."

"'Not as bad'?" Sanji yelled. "Have you looked at yourself lately? You look like a walking corpse! You say you are forced to live off the land and steal from garbage cans. And you find that acceptable? I know what it's like to starve for weeks but this..." He gestured to her. "This is a level I could never have conceived of in my worst nightmares." He paused to calm his temper.

Mezumi's chest hurt. Sanji's words had struck a blow to her pride. Her bottom lip quivered but she pushed back the tears threatening to well up in her eyes. She had kept herself going by telling herself that she could always have it worse. The villagers usually left her alone. She at least had privacy if nothing else. They avoided her like the plague. They could always start beating her. For that, at least, she was thankful they were afraid of her.

"Why won't you join our crew?" Sanji looked hurt. She couldn't help but be honest with him now.

"I'm scared. How do I know that my life won't be worse if I leave the island? How am I supposed to trust anyone after 18 years of guarding myself against everyone?" She was pleading with him to understand. She saw it as a 'better the devil you know...' sort of situation. Whereas Sanji knew what life was like for them on the ship. Sanji grabbed her hands in both of his. Their eyes met. Mezumi was captivated by his intensity.

"Mezumi-chan, I'm not asking for you to trust everyone. I'm asking you to trust me, here and now. I have been in your position. I didn't want to join this crew at first. But after I joined I realized that this bunch of misfits are more than just friends. They are family. Each of them would give up their own dream to see another fulfill theirs. We protect each other. We have done what others consider impossible to help our family." Sanji looked even more serious. "Mezumi-chan if you join us, we can give you a new life. We can be your friends, your family, your protectors anything that you need. You can do more than just barely survive. You can thrive with us here. And I will personally see to it that you eat like a queen everyday. Please say you will at least reconsider." Mezumi paused looking torn. She was incredibly frightened of what the world had to offer her off her lonely island. She seemed to have an unnatural ability to garner hate from everyone she passed. But Sanji's words had her thinking that maybe her life could be different.

"I need time to decide." Sanji smiled at the progress he made.

"Well, while you are thinking how about some soup?" Sanji held up the cup with a smile. She nodded. He brought the spoon to her mouth. After 4 spoons full the soup was gone.

"I must say you have an excellent bedside manner." She giggled at her small joke. Her smile made her look so much better. It brought some color back to her face.

"I also do parties." He joked. She laughed louder. It almost seemed as if she wasn't sick at all. Chopper came back in to check on his patient.

"It seems you are feeling better." He said while checking his machines. "You will need to get up and move around a little." Chopper disconnected her from the machines and her I.V. He began to write her progress down on a medical chart. Sanji helped to lift her out of bed. He stood next to her with his arm around her waist to prevent her from falling. Mezumi blushed.

"You don't have to treat me like I am a paper doll. I can walk on my own." She let go of him and walked out to the deck herself.

"You are so stubborn." Sanji said it as an endearment. He followed after her. She stood in the sun just breathing deeply. Her face held a serene expression as if she didn't have a care in the world. With her cloak removed, Sanji could see that her white hair reached her lower back. Everyone was on deck at that point wanted to see how their new friend was feeling. She still hadn't accepted Luffy's invitation. But from the moment Luffy invited her to join their crew, everyone started to think of her as family. Everyone was glad to see her out of bed.

"Luffy, the log pose just reset we can leave anytime now." Nami had waited till everyone was around to announce this.

"Sanji can we eat before we leave? I want barbecue like the people on the hill." Luffy whined to Sanji.

"The... people on the hill?" Mezumi echoed. Mezumi looked around. "What do you..." She stopped dead with a horrified look on her face. On the only hill on the island had smoke rolling up into the sky. Mezumi took off in the direction of the smoke.

"Mezumi-chan wait!" Sanji yelled after her. She didn't stop. Everyone ran after her.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

She ran through the market and up the foot path to her home. She didn't stop running until she got to the clearing where her home stood engulfed in flames. She paused for a second before she ran at the door. Sanji saw her kick in the door and run inside. Two seconds later she ran out to a safe distance holding her hands to her chest and coughing. Everyone saw her open her hands to see a blue jay. Looking relieved that the bird was untouched. She took the bandage off it's wing.

"I couldn't leave him in there to die." The bird chirped and jumped off into the bushes behind them.

"You are the one that should be in there dying." Katsuo stepped out from the bushes.

"What have I ever done to you?" Mezumi shouted angrily.

"It's not what you did. It is what your mother did. She could have been my bride. But she went and fell in love with your blasted father, Yoshihiro, and became pregnant with you. Yet I was still kind and showered her with gifts, one of which was the devil fruit that gave you your power." Katsuo sneered.

"What do you know of my mother?" Katsuo continued.

"I gifted Youko with that devil fruit not knowing what it was. The stress it caused on her pregnant body forced her into an early labor. She died giving birth to you. All unborn children ingest what their mother eats. Therefore, you gained all the power from the fruit and she ended up dead." Mezumi was taken aback.

"What happened to my father?" She never knew her parents and now she finally had an opportunity to learn about them. Her heart swelled when she heard their names. Youko. Yoshihiro. Katsuo smirked.

"Your father sailed off as soon as he knew about you. He abandoned you worse than your mother did." Her heart sank immediately to the pit of her stomach. She wasn't going to let him see her disappointment though.

"Were you the one that spread the rumors about me?" She shouted at him.

"Yes. Your mother didn't want me. So I made sure no one would ever want you." Robin stepped forward, outraged at his words.

"You cannot judge an innocent child by the actions of their parents." Robin threw the words at Katsuo.

"So what is this? Is this just more of the hell you force me to live in?" She pointed to her home burning. "Or are you here to run me out of town and make sure I never return?"

"No." He said lamely. "I am here to kill you." He drew a gun and pointed it straight at Mezumi's face. "You have been a thorn in my side since the day you were born. I should have killed you long ago. But just like I was with your whore mother, I was merciful." He smirked. "You said I made your life hell. Allow me to put you out of your misery." Luffy stepped in front of her. His head lowered to the ground as a shadow fell across his face. If Katsuo did his homework he would have known who the people were in front of him. If he had bothered to know how close Mezumi was to this group of people he would have been wary. But Katsuo had been much too lazy and uninformed. He had just revealed himself to be the soul cause of her life being a living hell. He did not known he had just incurred the wrath of eight deadly pirates, with nothing but a hand gun to defend himself. If Katsuo had been a smart man he would run as far as he could and then keep running.

"Stop! If you want her you have to go through me." Mezumi pushed at him to get him out of the way.

"Luffy stop! Get out of the way. He's going to..." Mezumi kept pushing Luffy but he wouldn't move.

"What's one more body to bury?" With that, Katsuo pulled the trigger. Luffy stumbled and fell back as the shot echoed all around. Mezumi screamed. This man was the cause of her mother's death. He was the reason she was hated. She had lived under his tyranny for 18 years. She was not frightened. She was furious. These people, her friends, who she had only known for 2 days cared for her more than anyone else had in 18 years. She ran at Katsuo as he tried to reload. She tackled him to the ground causing him to drop the gun. His head hit the ground stunning him but doing no further damage. Kneeling over him she punched him right in the face.

"You." His nose started to bleed. She punched him again."Monster." Before she could hit him again someone grabbed her wrist. She turned around half-crazed only to calm immediately seeing Sanji with an expression she couldn't identify. He pulled her up and away from Katsuo. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away the blood on her hand.

"His blood doesn't deserve to be on your lovely hands." He pocketed the stained cloth. Mezumi grabbed the material of his coat in her hands and buried her face in his chest. She started to cry.

"Luffy..." Her voice broke.

"What?" Luffy said popping out of nowhere making light of the situation by picking his nose. Mezumi gasped.

"Luffy! How did you... I thought you were dead!" Mezumi was nearly hysterical.

"I'm a rubber man. Bullets don't hurt me. They just bounce off." He smiled.

"Luffy... you..." She couldn't form the words. They had stood up for her. Luffy had literally taken a bullet for her. She wanted to cry big, hysterical tears of joy.

"Like it or not you are part of our family now. We would do anything for our nakama." Luffy smiled at her. Behind Luffy she could see that Nami was binding Katsuo's hands and feet with ripped pieces of his clothing. Katsuo lunged out to grab Nami when two swords appeared at either side of his throat.

"For once in your life you may want to think before you act." Zoro looked at him as if he would like nothing better than to cut his head off. He let go of Nami's wrist. She proceeded to tie him up a little tighter that she had before. Mezumi looked back to Luffy.

"So your offer still stands? Can I join your crew?" She was hesitant. Luffy beamed.

"Party to celebrate our newest crew member! Sanji I want barbecue!" Luffy shouted loud enough to wake everyone in a 5 mile radius.

Nami whooped. Robin smiled. Usopp and Chopper linked arms and started to dance around in circles. Zoro even smirked. Franky made a star with his forearms, shouting "SUPA!" She turned back to Sanji.

"So you have to almost get killed before you make a decision. I will have to remember that." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Should we head back to the ship? We can start that party you are going on about." Mezumi asked everyone.

"You guys go on ahead. Usopp, Zoro and I need to take care of Mr. High and Mighty over here." Nami gestured to Katsuo. Everyone headed back to the ship without them. For once Mezumi didn't feel like hiding from the villagers. Walking straight through the market, she smiled and waved to everyone that looked her way.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Walking back onto the ship Sanji started to make barbecue, Luffy was dancing around with Chopper and Franky had a ukulele out. How he played such a tiny instrument with such big hands she would never know.

Robin approached her. "Would you like a tour of the ship?" She nodded. Robin showed her the observation room, the aquarium bar, Usopp's factory, and the library. Her eyes sparkled. She had never had the freedom to read so many books.

"Our library is filled with all the books that hold the crew's interest. Maps, blueprints, history books, cookbooks, medical journals and even a few fiction books."

"Everything I know, I taught myself from books."

"I can teach you more if you like."

"That would be wonderful." Mezumi's face lit up.

"Every morning after breakfast we will meet here. We should head back to the party."

They passed by one door. "This is the mens' bedroom. We don't often intrude on the opposite gender for privacy purposes." She opened the next door and they walked in. "This is the womens' bedroom. You, Nami and myself will share this room."

"There are three beds already." Robin smiled at her observation.

"We knew you would join the crew. So we made the proper arrangements." Three beds sat on the left wall. A vanity and a closet were on the far wall and three soft chairs sat around a small round table. The bed next to the wall had a small stack of clothes. "This is your bed as well as some clothes we bought in town for you."

"They are mine? Really?" Robin just smiled. "All of this freedom is going to take some getting used to. How did you know I would join you?"

"Luffy is very stubborn. Once he asks someone to join his crew there is no changing his mind." She paused. "They saved me too. I became a power holder when I was very young. My home burned to the ground and I was considered a monster wanted by the world government. When I was captured they refused to let me go. When the crew came to save me I realized I found a place where I could belong."

"I'm not sure what to say."

"Shall we go back to the party?"

"Can I take a shower first?" Mezumi seemed a little hesitant.

"Of course. This is your home now."

Mezumi grabbed a pair of her new clothes. A forest green tee shirt, tan shorts that reached just above her knees and a pair of sandals. Robin lead her to the bathroom and left to join the crew on deck. She bathed in a giant bath tub big enough for her tall frame to stretch out and still have room. She donned her new clothes. She felt cleaner than ever before. She had never lived so luxuriously in her life. She hoped she would never get used to the feeling. It felt too wonderful. She stepped on the deck beaming at her new friends.

"It's so strange feeling like I have a family now." Franky put his big arm around her shoulders.

"Get used to it kid. Your stuck with us. OW! Just call me 'aniki'." Franky gestured to himself with his thumb. Mezumi giggled.

"Okay aniki." She tested it out. Franky was delighted.

"SUPA!" Nami grabbed her out from under Franky's arm.

"We took Katsuo to town and made sure everyone knew what kind of man he was. I'm guessing there will be a new mayor by tomorrow." Nami suddenly had stars in her eyes. "So, you can make us some gold. Then we can go shopping together!"

"Nami, ease up on the gold obsession would ya? She still has to get her energy back. Not to mention she still has to fix my sword." Zoro said downing the contents of a mug.

"I can continue with your sword tomorrow." Zoro nodded and left to get another drink. Nami soon followed him for the same reason. Sanji walked up to her and offered his hand with a smile.

"May I have this dance, Milady?" She smiled.

"You are the epitome of a cliche." Her face fell slightly. "I don't know how to dance." Sanji took her hand despite her protestations and led her gently towards the music.

"Well then, it's lucky for you that I happen to be an excellent leader." Continuing to hold her hand in his, he lifted her other hand up to his shoulder. He then placed his hand on her hip. He cringed internally at the reminder of how thin she was. Sanji attempted to lead her into a slow waltz. But after a full minute of Mezumi staring at their feet attempting to follow him, he found that she couldn't move her feet quick enough and was stumbling through the steps. Sanji detached his hands from her. Mezumi looked down embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. I am trying." Sanji paused. She assumed he let go of her to give up on dancing with her.

"No need to be sorry." He was not letting go of her to stop dancing. In fact, he placed his hands on her waist, lifting her up to place her feet on his. He grabbed her hand and waist again as she looked up surprised, taking hold of his shoulder as an after thought. "Just don't lock your knees and you will be fine." He carried her gently through the waltz they had attempted earlier. She was lighter than he expected and due to her condition. He had not expected much. He had carried her all the way to the ship. But at the time he was too focused on her well being to notice she was exceptionally light.

Mezumi was too busy staring at her hand on Sanji's shoulder to notice he was deep in thought. She always knew she was tall. She was taller even than Robin and Nami. But Sanji still stood several inches taller than her. Having his shoulder at her eye level made it much more realistic. With a jolt she realized she had a lot of physical contact with him in the past two days. It was more than the rest of her life put together. She looked up at his face only to realize he had been staring at her already. She blinked and looked away, unsure of the feeling settling in her stomach.

"Thank you. If you hadn't bought me that loaf of bread yesterday in the market... I might be dead now." She still didn't look at him, unsure of herself.

"Strange that such small decisions have such big consequences." She looked back at him as he twirled them gracefully across the deck.

"Mezumi-chan..." Sanji began. But not a second later Luffy grabbed Mezumi and started to dance. Although Sanji thought "flailing" would be a more appropriate term. He scowled. He couldn't blame Luffy for having such a thick skull. Mezumi was laughing with Luffy and he wasn't about to tear her away from anything that made her happy.

"Nami lets head for the next island now." Luffy shouted. Everyone shouted in agreement. Everyone enjoyed themselves late into the night. Only when they were close to passing out did they finally go to bed.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next morning Mezumi woke up early. She couldn't sleep in. She was too excited to begin her new life. She felt like a completely different woman. It felt so easy to accept her new life, given that she had no attachment to her past. She went out to the deck to see Zoro's sword and her scrap metal waiting for her. She sat down and resumed her position from before. The sword placed between her feet and the scrap metal in her lap. She focused all of her attention on her task for a few minutes. She was completely unaware of anything around her.

"Good morning Mezumi-chan." She jumped nearly a foot in the air, startled out of her concentration. She looked up at Sanji with wide eyes.

"Holy Hell Sanji you nearly gave me a heart attack. Are you trying to kill me?"

"It's not my fault you didn't see me coming." He held out his hand. "How about I make it up to you with breakfast?" Taking a moment to set her materials down, she took his hand as he helped her up. She let go of his hand once she was standing up. Sanji tried to hide his disappointment. Stepping into the kitchen, Sanji began making breakfast. Mezumi sat down on the same chair she sat on two days ago.

"How am I supposed to help on the ship? Everyone seems to have their specific purpose but I don't know what I am supposed to do. I don't want to feel like a free loader."

"You will figure out what you can do eventually. I'm sure your powers will come in handy for many things around here." Mezumi was silent for a minute.

"I've been thinking... I want to learn to fight. I don't want to feel helpless anymore. I was thinking of asking Zoro to teach me."

"I could teach you to fight."

"You could?" Sanji frowned.

"Of course. I'm not just a cook you know. I can fight using only my feet. A cook's hands are too priceless to use in battle. Besides you don't want that idiot swordsman teaching you. He is too lazy."

"So will you teach me?"

"We can start right after breakfast."

"Robin agreed to tutor me in the mornings. Can we do it after lunch?"

"Of course." Everyone walked in for breakfast. Sanji set everything down on the table. He made scrambled eggs, toast, rice and grilled fish with fresh orange juice. They all thanked him for the meal and began eating. Mezumi however didn't have a plate heaped with food like everyone else. Sanji had taken Chopper's instructions to heart and gave her a small plate with barely enough food for a mouthful. Looking at the plate for a moment she realized Sanji was tailoring her diet to help her gain back the nutrients that she needed. He served her a small square of whole wheat toast, a small bite of cooked salmon and a slice of a strawberry. She had never felt more special or cared for in her life. She ate slowly. She was savoring the taste but she was also eating slow so she didn't have to wait for everyone else to finish. She felt that would be too rude.

After breakfast she met Robin in the library. They sat in two small chairs and discussed science. Atoms, molecules, organic and inorganic compounds, elements and chemicals. About an hour into their session Sanji walked in with a tray of tea.

"Good morning ladies. You're hard at work I see." He set the tray down on a nearby desk. "I brought you lovely ladies some tea. Mezumi-chan, Chopper wants you to take these vitamins. He also agreed that tea in between meals will be good for you. So what are you studying?"

"Robin-san is teaching me science. I think if I know more about how my powers work then I might be able to do more with them." If she could smile any wider her face might split in two.

"Well don't let me keep you from it." He smiled and walked out.

"It appears our dear cook-san fancy's you." Mezumi's looked back at her perplexed.

"What? I don't... You think he..." She looked outright confused now. Robin considered her for a moment.

"You have never had much interaction with people have you?" She versed it as a question but it was obviously more of a statement.

"No. Everyone either ignored me or hated me. I used to watch people when I was younger to try to understand their relationships from their words and gestures." Her brows connected as she tried to remember something. "I thought people that fancied each other would usually hug, kiss and hold hands."

"Those actions are usually reserved for people with a relationship established as romantic in nature. Before the relationship is established on both sides as romantic, both individuals would generally display a special interest in the person they 'fancy'."

"So, he is... interested in me." Mezumi raised an eyebrow attempting to find the right words.

"That would be a safe assumption, yes." Robin thought for a moment. She was obviously uninformed in human relationships. That begged for a much more important question in Robin's mind.

"Mezumi-chan, do you know anything about sex?" She couldn't have the girl pursuing a romantic relationship while she was completely ignorant of the implications. Mezumi looked at her with a matter-of-fact air.

"Yes. I do. I used to read as many books as I could from the library. I read several books on the anatomy of men and women, diseases, procreation and child birth. But the books covered more... mechanical aspects of sex and it didn't really state the sociological or emotional aspects of it. Robin was relieved. She at least knew the important parts of intimate relationships. Mezumi had no one else to turn to for answers. Robin didn't mind informing her on the gaps in her knowledge. She was glad she had asked before it was too late. Robin began a speech of who has sex and why. Not wanting to leave her ignorant, she told her all aspects of sex and the world around her. She took nearly a half hour to explain the taboos regarding sex and relationships. Everything that was common knowledge that she didn't know. Lastly she saved the emotional importance.

"Many people use sex as an outlet for release as well as procreation. Everyone has a different view on how or why or under what circumstances the act of sex should be preformed."

"Robin-san, Why do you think it should be used?" Robin considered her question for a moment.

"It is my belief that one should have sex because they are in love. Many people will tell you that you that you must be married. But due to the fact that arranged marriages still exist, I believe you should be in love first Mezumi-chan. Sex is very emotional and can cause a person to believe they are in love when in fact it is just lust. A couple should be in love first so they are sure of their feelings before they try to increase their relationship to a more intimate one."

"What am I supposed to do about Sanji?" Robin gave her a small smile.

"Do whatever comes natural."

"You make it sound so easy."

"I believe I have told you everything you need to know. If you have any questions feel free to ask me. We should probably head down to lunch before we miss it."

"Thank you Robin-san."

After an uneventful lunch Mezumi and Sanji met for their fighting lesson on deck.

"I think my fighting style will work well for you. I can teach you to fight with your feet so your hands are free to use your powers as need be. Seeing as you lack muscle I will just teach you the techniques for now. Once you get stronger you can actually apply what you learn."

He taught her proper ways to preform a few basic kicks and tried to correct her when she kept losing her balance. "Everyone starts out as a beginner. I hear the marimo was a terrible swordsman when he started."

"Did I just hear an underhanded compliment towards Zoro?" She teased him. He couldn't help but smile.

"You must be hearing things."

"Can we take a break now? I need to finish Zoro's sword." Sanji left to start dinner. By the time dinner started she was nearly done with it.

"Imoto can you make gunpowder?" Franky asked his 'younger sister' at dinner. She thought for a moment.

"It's made up of basic compounds and elements. It should be easy enough. Why?"

"Usopp and I have been working on improving the formula to get more energy out of the reaction. We thought you could help us. "

"I would love to aniki."

"SUPA! We can start tomorrow."

Mezumi left dinner early in favor of completing Zoro's sword. After attaching the final piece, she held it up to inspect it in the low light of the dying sun. She couldn't find any flaws where the new piece connected with the old. Satisfied with her work, she stood up and looked for Zoro. He wasn't very hard to find since he always fell asleep somewhere outside. She found him napping at the helm with his arms crossed and head down.

"Zoro? WAKE UP!" Zoro blinked awake.

"What?" he asked very disgruntled.

"You could sound a little more grateful since I just fixed your un-fixable sword." She held it out to him sideways. Zoro looked surprised. He grabbed it and ran his hand across it inspecting it for imperfections. He balanced it on one finger near the hilt and ran his eyes across it. He stood and practiced a few moves with it. Satisfied, he slid it back in it's sheath.

"Thank you." With just those two words he walked away. She felt like her relationship with Zoro instantly improved to "trusted friend" having fixed something so important to him. Feeling very satisfied with herself, she went to bed.

Franky sat in his work shop tapping his desk with one large finger. He had been staring at his tools for the past hour trying to come up with something to build. He always enjoyed building and designing so he was constantly thinking of things to occupy his time. He yawned. Deciding to give up for the day, he left his work shop. He closed the door and started for the stairs. Looking to his left, he saw the storage room between his work shop and Usopp's factory. He moved to open the door. 'Why do we ever use this if we have a big store room already?' Opening the door and peering inside he saw an empty room. 'I guess we just don't use it.' The room was nearly big enough for Franky to touch the left and right walls at the same time. Due to his robotic arms being exceptionally large, that was saying something. For a store room though, it was tiny. 'That would explain why we have never used it before.' Smiling to himself he continued on his way to bed. He knew exactly what his next project would be.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

2 weeks later

Mezumi woke up and stretched. She looked forward to everyday she woke up on The Thousand Sunny. The past two weeks had been spent on her learning as much as possible. She stopped her morning sessions with Robin in favor of helping Franky and Usopp with experiments. She also used her mornings and any other spare time to read books from the library. She still continued her after noon training with Sanji. Soon after she became a crew member she was 'invited' to use Zoro's training room to gain some strength. Zoro of course didn't invite her in those exact words. It was more like he called her scrawny and told her she should be weight training if she ever wanted to put some force behind a kick. She thought back to the evenings training with Zoro.

Flashback

She stood atop a metal bar used for pull ups. She had been working on her balance for the past few days. She could easily balance on the stationary beam as the waves rocked back and forth. She needed to move on to a new challenge.

Zoro had been bench pressing a significant amount of weight when he set the bar back in the rack. He sat up and looked around. He cursed.

"Whats wrong?"

"This is too easy. I need more weights but there aren't any." She thought for a moment. An idea came to her and she jumped down from the bar she stood on.

"I think I have an answer to both of our problems." Zoro cocked an eyebrow indicating he was listening. "You need more weight to lift and I need more of a challenge for balancing. I will stand on the bar and you can use me as extra weight." She used the bench to take a step up onto the bar in question. She settled on it easily and looked down at Zoro. He smirked.

"Suit yourself." She took that to mean it was an excellent idea and he was grateful to have more weight to use. Zoro was a man of few words. She had to learn to read into his words slightly to grasp the real meaning.

"Great. Just don't drop me Zoro-kun." He took hold of the bar and lifted it off the rack. Unsteady at first, she had to throw her arms out to balance herself. Zoro lifted the bar up and down till she finally got into a rhythm. Centering her right foot on the bar, she lifted her left foot in the air. Zoro gave the bar a jerk. Afraid she had set him off balance and that she would topple to the floor along with the weights, she planted both feet on the bar and steadied herself with her hands again. Zoro gave a snort of laughter and she shot him a glare. His smirk didn't let up.

"Try that again and I will turn all of your weights to dust faster than you can apologize. Then we will see how you can train without them." She smirked at him and he grimaced at her words. Since when had Zoro become almost... playful?

After that first instance of working together, they started to help train each other. Mezumi became extra weight for Zoro as he trained. She would occasionally shout out encouragement in different forms to motivate him. Her favorite time for this was when he was already exhausted from training and was about to stop. She found a particularly excellent motivator, one day, when she was being used as a weight while he was doing one armed push-ups. She saw him start to slow in his efforts after about the 500th push-up. Now was the time for a little encouragement.

"What your going to give up already? Sanji could easily beat you to 1000." She sighed dramatically. "I guess you can just give up now. Everyone else will just have to cover for your sorry ass." Undermining his skills would usually get him to work about and hour past his limit. However, comparing him to Sanji would guarantee almost two hours more.

For her help, Zoro would occasionally help her train by demonstrating proper forms and throwing out tips when she was struggling. She had made the mistake once of adding too much weight to the bar and not having Zoro spot her. She lifted the bar off the rack and brought it down only to realize she couldn't push it back up. While it was inching towards her wind pipe, she tried unsuccessfully to vanish the weights using her powers. Before she was in any real danger, Zoro lifted the bar off of her, effortlessly, and placed it back on the rack. He proceeded to yell at her for her stupidity. Since then, she only ever trained while he was present and he had become almost like her personal trainer.

End Flashback

Getting ready for the day she stopped in front of the mirror. She had gained some much needed weight and a little muscle since she joined the crew. She was still thin by any standard but her stomach was flat rather than caved in and she could no longer see her ribs. Her face rounded slightly to get rid of the gaunt look it previously held. She smiled at her reflection knowing it was all thanks to Sanji taking such good care of her. She though she should really do something nice for him to thank him for all he has done. They weren't anything more than friends but she hoped that would change soon. A gift would give her the perfect opportunity to thank him and show her feelings for him. She headed down to breakfast. She quietly opened the door to the kitchen. Seeing Sanji making breakfast she sneaked up right behind him and whispered into his ear.

"Good morning Sanji-kun."

"Good morning. Too busy dreaming of me to get out of bed early?" Sanji smiled.

"Now what makes you think I would dream of you?" She teased.

"Because I am the most handsome man you will ever meet."

"Someone is a little full of themselves."

"I only speak the truth." Mezumi snorted and sat at the table. With everyone filing into the kitchen Sanji set the plates down. Chopper had finally given her a clean bill of health so she was now able to eat a plate full of food without getting sick.

"There is an island ahead. We should reach it within the hour." Nami informed the crew after they had finished. "We can restock our supplies and relax for a while."

"I'm going to go finish a book before we reach the island. Excuse me." Mezumi left quickly, eager to get back to her book. As soon as the kitchen door shut behind her Franky addressed the crew.

"I have been fixing up the store room below deck for Mezumi-chan. I need to put the finishing touches on it after I get a few things from town. I need some one to keep her away from the ship until I can get it done."

"That is a great idea. Everyone else has their own place to go but Mezumi-chan doesn't have somewhere to call her own." Chopper smiled.

"I have been thinking of going shopping with her. Once we get to a different climate she is going to need different clothes. Not to mention she only has four outfits." Nami wrinkled her nose thinking of her desperate need for new attire.

"We should get her a gift to officially welcome her to the crew. Normally I wouldn't say it was necessary. Franky has already thought to gift her with her own room. But to this day she still doesn't have possession she can call her own."

"She still doesn't have a weapon." Zoro said. "We should get her one."

"Do you have a problem with how I am teaching her to fight, shitty swordsman?" Sanji shouted at Zoro for his comment.

"Only that your weak kicks are nothing against the steal of a sword, shit-cook." Zoro shouted back just as loud. Robin interjected to cease their verbal battle.

"I agree with swordsman-san. A weapon would be an excellent idea. As much trouble as we get into, her powers may exhaust her too quickly. It would be wise for her to have a weapon to fall back on." Usopp put his hand to his chin in thought.

"Well, I could probably come up with something. When should I have it ready?"

"Her room will be ready tonight we can give it to her then." Franky said.

"Tonight? You are giving me less than a day to make up and build an entirely new weapon?"

"You are the one that offered to make something for her. No one forced you into it." Usopp turned away from Franky. He pouted as if it would get him more time.

"Fine, I will do it." He started to shout as he threw his hands in the air. "I will make something amazing and thoughtful and powerful. Because I am the great Usopp!" He stated the last sentence very dramatically. The rest of the crew chose not to notice.

"So I will take her shopping while you finish your work." Nami smiled at Franky. "She will be so surprised!"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Everyone gathered on deck as they docked Sunny in the harbor. Nami gave a meaningful look to Franky as she approached Mezumi. Nami laid a hand on her shoulder as she faced Mezumi.

"So, are you ready?" Nami smiled brightly to her.

"Umm... Ready for what exactly?"

"Shopping of course! I told you weeks ago that we would have to go shopping and now we can. So let's go already." Nami grabbed her hand and all but dragged her off the ship toward the island. They were about to pass Zoro on the dock when Nami got a wicked grin on her face. Just as they were about to pass, Zoro she grabbed onto his arm as well.

"Nami? What are you doing?" Zoro had a curious look on his perpetually grumpy face.

"Mezumi and I are going shopping." She continued to walk forward while they tagged along unwillingly behind her.

"So what the hell do you need me for?"

"Well obviously someone has to carry all the things we are going to buy." Zoro was too far in shock to protest further. He was going to be subjected to sitting in some frilly waiting room while while Nami had her fashonista way with Mezumi. He would be forced to carry around cute shopping bags till they were ready to go back to the ship. The look of disgust was replaced with horror with one final thought. He knew Nami was taking Mezumi shopping to distract her from the surprise for her on the ship. Nami was supposed to take her into town ALL...DAY...LONG.

Mezumi looked over at her fellow prisoner in Nami's grip. Zoro had a look of horror on his face as if he just saw all the evils the word had to offer. Unease settled in her stomach as she was dragged into the first shop.

After several hours of Nami using Mezumi as her personal dress up doll, they were still trying on clothes. Zoro had been right. He was sitting on a frilly pink ottoman in a carpeted waiting area as Mezumi stepped in and out of the dressing area. He was surrounded by bags from previous shops containing various shirts, shorts, pants, shoes and a bikini that Nami insisted she buy because "It compliments your eyes perfectly. You have to buy it." They had stopped into a high end shop at Nami's orders that she had to own at least one formal outfit. Zoro, however, didn't think he would have to give his opinion on her formal wear.

"It looks fine. Can we go now?" Surprise or not he wanted to end his torture.

"Obviously not. Zoro We are counting on your opinion as a guy. We need to know what Mezumi looks stunning in. We can't settle for something that is just 'fine'."

"Crazy woman." He rolled his eyes as Nami sent Mezumi in with yet another outfit. A few minutes later Mezumi stepped out. Zoro's eyes widened and hit jaw nearly met the floor.

The dress was a deep olive green. It covered her left shoulder as it flowed down across and down her chest as it wrapped around her back to connect under her arm. Other than the one strip behind her, the dress was completely back less from her neck to her lower back. The sides of the dress were cut away slightly to reveal the sides of her stomach. It laid so gently across her skin as it traveled down her long legs to encircle her feet. The dress was cut up to mid thigh on her left leg enough to leave a tantalizing view. Her white hair flowed down her back in gentle waves. She looked the picture of elegance.

Nami looked over to Zoro to see his reaction. She didn't have to ask as the look on his face said more than he ever would. Finally satisfied, she told Mezumi to change as she grabbed shoes and a few matching accessories. Mezumi changed quickly. She was happy to be done shopping. She had already been burned out in the first hour. But she didn't want to deny Nami when she was having so much fun. Mezumi paid with a gold bar she so conveniently had in her pocket. Seeing Zoro carrying many bags and shoe boxes already she elected to carry the last bag herself. She felt guilty having Zoro carrying all her things but Nami had insisted upon it.

Arriving back on Sunny they saw Sanji and Robin lounging in chairs on deck. Sanji held a cigarette and Robin held a book. Seeing them arrive Robin gave them a smile before returning to her book. Nami addressed Sanji.

"Hello Sanji-kun. Back from shopping already?"

"Of course."

Sanji couldn't help but smirk when he saw Zoro carrying almost all of their purchases. Zoro looked right in Sanji's eye.

"Not. A. Word." Zoro growled out, His eyes barely reaching over the small mountain of shoe boxes. Sanji was more than happy to sit back and take in the scene, trying to burn it into his memory. Zoro followed the girls as they went to their room to put away all of her new purchases. Zoro set all the bags and boxes on the floor before leaving in a hurry. He escaped as quick as he could to his training room in the crow's nest. He immediately started a heavy workout routine in an attempt to fit something masculine into his day.

Sanji saw Zoro climbing the ladder as quickly as possible. He knew the girls would be busy for a while so he headed down to check on Franky's progress.

"Nami and Mezumi are back." Franky poked his head out of the room holding a hammer and nails.

"I'm not finished she needs to be gone a little longer." They both heard a scuffling sound as the door to Usopp's factory flew open.

"What? She's back already? I only just started on the holder!" Without another word Usopp put his head and torso back through the opening and closed the door sharply.

"I think I can be done in a little over an hour. Stall her until then." Franky resumed pounding nails into the wall. Sanji grumbled to himself. How was he supposed to distract her? He didn't have anything to go on as he made his way up to her bedroom. He still hadn't thought of anything by the time he knocked on the door. He figured he would just have to wing it.

"Come in." They were still putting away her new clothes when he walked in.

"Hello, Sanji-kun. What are you up to?" Mezumi asked him politely.

"I was looking for you actually." He really did not plan this out.

"Well, You just saw me a few minutes ago. Did you need something?"

"Uhh... I was just wondering if you could go into town with me." He wanted to smack himself it sounded like the worst pickup...

"Okay." Wow. He didn't think that would work. "Just let me finish putting my clothes away."

"Go ahead. I will finish them." Nami smirked and winked at her.

"Thank you Nami." They left the ship and were on the dock before Mezumi said anything. "What did you need to get in town? I thought you finished shopping today?"

"I... was just hoping we could get something to eat together." He was a five star chef and he wanted to go out to eat... brilliant strategy. He looked away gritting his teeth.

"You wanted to go out to eat... with me? Like on a date?" His head whipped back to look at her. His cheeks turned pink.

"No, no. Not... not a date. It's nothing like a date. I just..." The more he tripped over his words the more she looked hurt.

"You... wouldn't want to go on a date with me?" She turned her gaze to her feet feeling hurt and embarrassed. Sanji had to think quickly.

"Of course I would date you." Her head snapped up at his blunt answer. Her eyes widened. "I was just trying to explain that if I did take you out on a date, you would never have to ask. You would know already."

"Oh." She wasn't sure what to say.

"I was just hoping to get to know you better over lunch."

"That sounds great." She smiled up at him. Sanji was instantly relieved.

"Great. I think there is a restaurant at the end of this street." They walked in an uncomfortable silence till she spoke up.

"Where did you learn to cook?" He looked over at her in interest.

"My mentor Zeff taught me everything he knows. Although he didn't start out as my mentor. He actually attacked the ship I was on. It turned out that he and I shared the same dream to find the All Blue. When both of our ships were caught in a terrible storm I was about to drown before he saved me. It turned out that he saved me because we had the same dream but it cost him his leg when he saved me." She gasped.

"That's awful."

"We were left on an island for weeks with hardly any food. After we were saved he opened up a floating restaurant on the sea, The Baratie. He took me in and taught me everything he knows. He was also the one that taught me how to fight." They arrived at a small diner. Walking in they were seated in a corner by the waitress. They both opened their menus. Mezumi looked briefly before she looked back to Sanji.

"He sounds very important to you."

"He was very tough on me. He taught me values and the importance of food. At sea you cannot afford to be wasteful. You may never know where your next meal may come from. I will never turn down someone in need of food, even at my own expense. I fed a group of pirates right before they attacked The Baratie. I never regretted it."

"That sounds like a hell of a story."

"Enough about me though. I wanted to know more about you."

"There isn't much to tell." The waitress approached them

"Hello. Have you decided what you would like?" Mezumi looked frantically over the menu. She had been too busy listening to Sanji to decide what she wanted.

"I will have this steak meal, Medium-well, please. Mezumi?"

"Uh... Anything is okay with me."

"Two steaks then. Make her's well done please." Sanji smiled at the waitress as she gathered their menus. He turned back to face her. "There are so many things I don't know about you. Just tell me anything." She looked nervous at being put on the spot.

"Well, I like the color green." He smiled at her.

"That's a start. What do you like doing?"

"I like reading. It has always been one of my favorite things to do. When I was a kid I used to sneak into the library in my village and read books under one of the desks..." She stopped abruptly. But she remembered Sanji already knew of her past and he wouldn't judge her for it. "I started to go there so I could learn because no one would teach me anything. The villagers never let me go to school. So I taught myself to read and I read anything I could get my hands on. But I started to hide under the desks because if I could avoid the librarian, I could sleep there at night and be gone by morning. I didn't have anywhere else to go. A few months later the librarian found me sleeping under the desk and threw me out. From then on she started to look everywhere in the library before she closed it for the night. So, I couldn't go there any more." Sanji looked sad for her. She looked down again. "I read through your cook books in the library. I hope you don't mind."

"No I don't mind at all. You are welcome to anything in the library. What else have you read?"

"I looked through a few of Franky's blueprints and books about building. I read all of Chopper's journals and a few of his medical texts. I read some of Usopp's tool and weapon books and a few of his adventure books. I looked at Nami's maps but they were just pictures so I didn't bother with them. I read a couple of Robin's history books but they weren't very interesting." Sanji's eyes widened halfway through her explanation. She must have been devouring books left and right to have finished that many so quickly.

"That's amazing. You must have read through most of our library in the two weeks you have been here." She shrugged. It must have been her lack of opportunity for education that spurned her to learn at such an astounding rate.

"I guess so. I just like learning things." The waitress brought their food out. They sat in companionable silence as they ate.

"Did you ever buy books on your island?"

"No. No one would sell me anything. But I think you knew that from the day you first met me."

"I suppose I was hoping that not everyone was like that."

"It doesn't bother me much any more. I finally found people that care about me and now I have a place where I can belong." She shot him a smile from across the table. He smiled back knowing the truth of her words. They were going to show her just how much she belonged with them tonight. He was happy that such a small gesture could mean so much to her. The waitress delivered their bill. They were done eating but Sanji needed to stall her for at least another half hour.

"Mezumi-chan would you like to go to the book store?" She grinned from ear to ear.

"That would be wonderful! Can we go now?"

"Of course." He laid the money and a tip into the pocket book for their bill. She stood up and nearly ran out of the restaurant. She waited for him at the door, almost bouncing up and down with excitement.

"I saw the book store a few streets over when Nami and I were out buying clothes." He offered her his arm. She took it hesitantly.

"Lead the way." With the force of her enthusiasm, she nearly dragged him all the way to the book store. Holding the door open for her, she rushed inside. She looked like a bee trying to choose the prettiest flower in a meadow. "You should remember you are not on your island any more. They will sell you as many books as you can carry here. Don't forget you also have an unlimited supply of gold." He winked at her. She scanned the shelves with more detail than before and started to pull down books from every other shelf in almost every section. She started piling them in two stacks on both of his hands. Thankfully she stopped at his nose so he could still see. She ran off to the next section to grab more books. He brought the books he was carrying up to the counter. The man started tapping on his register setting the books into a large box he got from the back. She came back with a new stack of books in her hands. Beaming wildly she finally seemed satisfied. She set the books on the counter with the others. The man looked at her skeptically.

"Are you sure you have enough money for all of these?" Mezumi dug her hand deep into her pocket to distract the man from seeing her produce gold out of thin air. She brought out three gold bars as long and wide as her index finger.

"Will this be enough?" The man eagerly rang up the remaining books. Sanji grabbed the over flowing box as Mezumi handed over the gold bars. She grabbed the two extra bags and they started on their way back. "I can hardly believe it. I bought myself clothes and books. It feels like a dream." She was beaming the whole way back to the ship.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

When they arrived on deck Sanji looked behind himself to the stairs to see Franky pop his head up. He gave Sanji a thumbs up before disappearing. Sanji set the box of books down on deck. He lifted the bags out of Mezumi's hands and set them next to the box. A confused expression replaced the bright smile from before.

"Mezumi-chan there is something you need to see." He started on his way down the stairs. Her brows connected as she followed him. Leaving the last step of the stair case she looked up to the small hallway to see her fellow crew mates waiting for her.

"What..." Luffy interrupted her.

"Surprise!"

"What exactly is the surprise?" Franky pointed his thumb at the door next to him.

"We wanted you to have a place to call your own just like everyone else. So I built you one." Her face was blank as she opened the door. Her heart swelled at the sight before her.

Franky painted the room green. The exact color of her eyes. To the right side sat a large wooden desk and chair. In the left hand corner was a soft arm chair she could easily sit in for hours without feeling sore. Her favorite part was the book shelves. Every available space on the left and right walls were covered in empty book shelves. Looking down, she saw a soft green carpet.

"I saw how much you liked walking on the grass outside in your bare feet so I made you the next best thing. I also noticed you with a new book every time you were reading on deck. I figured you could start building your own collection of books. I also padded the walls so you won't hear all the noise from my workshop or Usopp's factory."

"I love it! I didn't think this day could get any better. But this... this is just perfect."

"Mezumi-chan that wasn't the last thing we wanted to show you today." Usopp chimed in interrupting her. He stepped forward and handed her a leather casing with leather straps hanging loose on it. At the top of the case she could see a shiny piece of metal sticking out. Pulling it out she saw it was just a cylinder of silvery metal about an inch and a half in diameter and nearly two feet long.

"It's a stick." She drew the words out carefully. She wasn't sure what it was supposed to be. Usopp explained when her saw her perplexed expression.

"I thought it would always be useful to have a tool or a weapon on hand. So I found this piece of titanium in town today. I thought, with your powers, it would be easy to change it's shape to any thing that suited your need. It is one of the strongest metals and it's very light. I made the holder for it to wrap around your leg. So it should be really easy to reach for it."

She stared at Usopp. She could hardly believe how much thought he put into such a simple design. She wasn't prone to touching people. She had never been the instigator when it came to engaging someone else in a physical display of affection. Her entire life had been spent attempting to avoid the villagers in her home town. Still, she found herself lunging at Usopp to hug him, startling everyone. She held her new weapon in her right had and she hugged him tight. He returned her hug after a moment as if it was an after thought. She detached from him slowly.

"Thank you Usopp. It's wonderful." She bent down and tightened the straps around her ankle and calf. She turned to Franky and hugged him too. She felt like a child when she couldn't wrap her arms around him. He squeezed her back gently.

"Thank you aniki. I can't think of anything that would make this room better." She ducked down to hug Chopper.

"If you hadn't healed me, I wouldn't be here right now. Thank you." She hugged Robin lightly.

"You were the first person to ever teach me anything. Thank you for everything." She hugged Nami next.

"Thank you for taking me shopping today." She quickly latched onto Zoro tightly so he couldn't throw her off. To her surprise he returned her gesture with a brief one armed hug.

"I'm sorry we tortured you today. I know you are a nice guy under that cool facade." Before she could fully turn to Luffy, she was engulfed in his own hug. Her arms were pinned to her sides as he lifted her up. She let out a choked sound trying to let him know she couldn't breathe. Thankfully, Nami hit him over the head and he let go. Breathing in a much needed lung full of air, she turned to Luffy.

"Thank you for letting me join Luffy." She left Sanji for last on purpose. "Sanji can you help me carry my books in here?"

"Of course Mezumi-chan." His heart sunk when he realized he wouldn't be getting a hug like everyone else. He turned around with a frown to retrieve the box from the upper deck. She followed him to grab the bags of books he couldn't carry. Everyone had cleared out of the hallway by the time they descended the stairs again. He nudged the door open with his foot and set the box on her desk. He turned around and saw her placing the extra bags onto the chair in the corner. He was about to walk out, dejected, when he heard her speak.

"Sanji." The last and only time she had said his name without the suffix was when she was too weak from her sickness. His gaze flicked back to her. She approached him slowly. She knew that if she hugged him alone it would mean so much more than when she hugged everyone else. She slipped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. She closed her eyes savoring the moment. Sanji wrapped his arms around her tightly, resting his chin on top of her head.

"I wanted to thank you for everything. You have changed my life so much for the better. I can't thank you enough for everything you have done for me. Thank you so much Sanji." She turned her head and stood on her toes to give him a quick peck on his jaw. Sanji was surprised to say the least. He didn't think she would be so forward with him. He had never been so flustered around a woman in his life. She let go of him much too soon for his liking. He wasn't sure what to say. He was reduced to looking at her while attempting to find the words he needed.

"We are really glad you joined us." Those were not the words he was looking for. It sounded more like he was expressing his thanks on the crew's behalf. His face darkened and he looked away, embarrassed. Mezumi looked down, dejected. Twice now she had been forward with him and he did nothing.

"If you will excuse me I need to put away my books. You should get started on dinner." She wanted him out. He could do nothing but oblige. He stopped at the door.

"Mezumi-chan I enjoyed spending time with you alone today. I would like to do it again sometime." He retreated with the left side of his face tingling from her kiss.

Mezumi wanted to scream. Sanji was so frustrating. He kept giving her mixed messages. He took her out saying it was not a date. But he said he wouldn't mind dating her. Although now she realized he only took her out to town to distract her. 'Still, I kissed him! I kissed him and he did nothing, nothing at all! Then he turns right around and said he would love to spend more time with me alone.' She placed each book roughly onto a book shelf. She filled up about half of the right wall with books. It had taken her a good 15 minutes to get this far. She wasn't sure what to do next. Give up or try harder? She sighed. She new she wouldn't do either. She would just keep going like nothing happened. She wasn't sure of Sanji's feelings for her. Until he made himself clear she was going to pretend that nothing happened between them just now. She put away the last book with much less force than before.

She needed to name her new weapon. She didn't want to keep referring to it as 'titanium stick'. It needed to be full of meaning. Nothing from her past would do. The past was gone and it deserved to stay there. She pulled out the object in question. 'I could name it after what I desire from my future.' She smiled as she thought of a name. Happiness and hope in one name. 'Kouki'. It also had a double meaning of light, radiance and shine. She thought it perfect to describe both the physical object and the new start it represented for her. She slid Kouki back into it's sheath. She took one last look around her new room. She sighed happily and headed up to dinner.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

A man sitting in the corner of a bar drained his mug. He never drank in excess. He preferred to keep his wits about him. After several months at sea on the Grand Line, anyone would agree to a change of scenery and a hearty drink. He walked to the bar waiting to be served. Letting his eyes wander over the wanted posters that lined the wall of the pub. The pub's name 'The Bounty' was famous for decorating the walls with wanted posters issued by the world government. The most wanted wall on the right side rarely changed. That wall was reserved for those of the highest bounty or the most elusive of criminals who had escaped the world government for years or decades. Two of the other walls were for small time criminals and small bounties. Several were taken down every month when word of their capture would reach the bar owner. The left wall however was constantly changing. This was where the newest bounties were posted days after the world government had issued them. His eyes roved over a few small time bounties and their faces. His eyes landed on one of the newest posters, still crisp and clean.

His eyes widened at the familiar face. He tore the poster down holding it for a closer inspection. A new bounty for a young woman he had known almost 19 years ago. But this woman was too young and something was different about her than he remembered. Her eyes stared directly at him as if the poster could see him alone. An uneasy feeling settled in his gut. It was too easy to tell the difference from this woman and the woman he remembered. Her eyes. Familiar green eyes that pierced into his soul and twisted his heart. Ignoring the bartender's attempts to get back the poster he clutched it hard in his hand and ran out of the bar to his ship.

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The next few days were uneventful for the straw hat crew. They set sail for the next island the same night they had revealed Mezumi's new room. They felt a little uneasy. They usually found trouble on every island they visited. They couldn't help but feel like they were due for some sort of trouble. Nami explained that they were sailing so easy because of the climate. On this stretch of the Grand line everyone took the opportunity to relax due to the perfect weather and ideal sailing conditions. They quickly reached the next island with the wind being in their favor.

They docked the ship and everyone went in separate directions. Robin stayed on deck to watch the ship. Zoro however was resting on deck. Mezumi approached him.

"Zoro-kun would you come with me while I do some shopping on the island?" Zoro only grunted. "Come on... I'll buy you lunch!" Zoro sighed and stood up.

"Fine. But I am not going to wait for you if you are buying clothes." He had already been tortured enough by Nami.

"No clothes. I promise." They headed off into town. Mezumi was suddenly glad she brought Zoro with her. The island was a resort for sailors and the like. The word 'resort' should conjure up a metal image of a pleasant town with spa's and fancy restaurants. However, this town was used to pirate business. Brothels sat on every street corner and prostitutes stood outside stores and inns ready to entice their next customer. The market right by the docks looked to be the only wholesome part of this island. Seeing a few men leering at her from a street corner she walked closer to Zoro. Their eyes roved over her from head to toe, alighting on a few places she suddenly felt needed to be covered with her hands as well as her clothes. She had the feeling that these men were looking for new 'recruits' in the business of pleasure.

"You'll protect me right?" She looked up at him frightened. Zoro nodded to her. Not wanting to get separated, Mezumi wrapped her hand around Zoro's arm and stuck closer to him than white on rice. They were in and out of a few shops where they bought nothing. But seeing a weapons shop they walked right in. Zoro was looking at a few swords to pass the time while Mezumi looked around. There were many weapons but she still favored her titanium stick that she always had attached to her leg. It would be pointless to buy a weapon if she could just make one herself. She bought a sharpening stone and handed it to Zoro.

"Sharpen your swords more often. That one I fixed was getting dull." Once again they were in and out of shops still not buying anything.

"What the hell are you looking for in all of these stores?" Zoro seemed impatient.

"I was going to get something for Sanji to thank him for everything he has done for me."

"Why don't you just make him something?"

"Well I... I didn't even think about it."

"I'm sure the shit cook would like anything you made for him."

"Oh. I guess I just have to think of what to make him."

"Great. That means we are done shopping. Can we go eat now?" Zoro really hated shopping for anything but weapons.

"Sure Zoro let's go get lunch." She grabbed his arm again. She was grateful that he agreed to accompany her despite the fact he knew he would hate it. She smiled up at him. "You know Zoro-kun I think that underneath that grumpy exterior you are a real gentleman." Zoro scowled and mumbled something under his breath about women.

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Robin sat on deck enjoying the sun while she read a new history book.

"Ahoy! Straw hat crew!" Robin set her book down after placing the page number in her memory. She stood and walked to the edge to see who was yelling for her crew members. One man stood where the ramp to the ship met the dock. The man looked to be middle aged. The light brown of his scruffy beard had slowly been consumed by gray hair through the years. The lines on his face and flecks of gray in his hair also gave away his age. His skin had tanned, most likely from many years at sea. He wore a plain red shirt under a grey jacket and black cargo pants with black boots.

"Hello. How can I help you?"

"I am looking for a woman."

"From the look of this town, you could have your pick of many women for the right price. I can assure you that you will find no such ladies of the night on this ship."

"That is not what I meant. I am looking for a woman by the name of Mezumi."

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Walking into a tavern, they sat down at the bar. Mezumi ordered them two of the best meal they had, giving the barman a gold bar she brought out of her pocket. They sat in comfortable silence till someone pulled Mezumi off her chair by her arm. She was met with the sight of a greasy bearded man that looked like he hadn't bathed in a year. She could smell the alcohol emanating from him from her position already and she was horrified to see him move closer to her face.

"Hello sweetheart. How about you leave skinny here and come have a party with us. Your boyfriend can't even pay for your meal but we will show you a time you will never forget." She cringed away from his breath invading her nostrils. She looked behind him to see several other greasy men leering at her in what they must have thought was an attractive manner. Mezumi tried to pry the man's hand from her arm. She smiled nervously at him.

"No that's okay. I'm just passing through really. I'm just here to eat and be on my way. I'm not interested in parties or times I will never forget even with years of psychotherapy." His face darkened

"Come on girl. Don't be a bitch about it."

"She said no. Now let go of her." Zoro glared at the man.

"Who is going to stop me? You?" The man laughed. Mezumi winced at how hard he was holding her. She blinked and suddenly noticed Zoro was holding a sword to the man's throat. It took the man a few seconds to realize that he was being threatened. He must be very slow.

"How about this? You leave us alone and I won't turn your balls to lead." She glared. Every man within earshot winced at the possibility. The man let go of her. "Zoro I think we should seek better company." She grabbed onto Zoro's arm again. She didn't care if anyone thought they were together. She would easily sacrifice personal space if it meant she would be safe. They left the tavern before Zoro decided it was safe enough to put his sword away.

The man glowered at the door they just exited. "If they think this is over they are dead wrong."

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Arriving back at the port that Sunny was docked at they saw a stranger ascending the ramp onto their ship.

"Hey, who are you and what are you doing on our ship?" Zoro demanded answers from the man. Robin smiled at Zoro from her position at the railing.

"Not to worry swordsman-san. I invited him on deck for answers already. Although he did tell me he was looking for our dear Mezumi-chan." The man hadn't said a word yet. He was too busy staring at Mezumi. She had not yet relinquished her hold on Zoro's arm and she held it tighter under the stranger's gaze. She let go of him as they stepped on deck but she didn't step too far away from her friends.

"You're Mezumi?" His voice sounded choked and breathless.

"Yes."

"Can I... talk to you alone please?"

"Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of my friends." After her last run in with a man a few moments ago she was understandably wary. The stranger nodded.

"I saw this in town just a few days ago." He rustled inside of his jacket for a folded piece of paper. "This was how I knew about you." He held it up for them to see. A picture of her the day she left Arch Island adorned the wanted poster for her. He read a short description from the back. "'Wanted dead or alive Alchemist Mezumi, 18. Rumored to be a witch, Alchemist Mezumi can change any available substance into anything else. Last seen on her home town of Arch Island. She is considered armed and extremely dangerous.' Bounty 25 million Beri.' When I asked around town I heard you were part of the Straw Hat crew."

"If it is her bounty you are after, I should inform you we will not make it easy for you." The threat was present in Robin's words. Zoro grabbed the handle of one of his swords to emphasize the meaning.

"No. I'm not here to hurt anyone or take any bounties. I just wanted to confirm a few details." He tucked the wanted poster away in his jacket.

"You already know much about me. I think it is fair that you tell us who you are before I answer any of your questions."

"That is fair. I am the first mate of the Shadow Pirates. Second in command of their forces after Captain Eiji. The men call me Hiro."

"Nice to meet you Hiro. Now what did you need to ask me?"

"Can you tell me about your mother? You look very similar to a woman I met years ago on Arch Island."

"She is dead. She died giving birth to me. I don't know much more than that."

"Oh. I'm sorry." He seemed genuinely grim when he heard of her fate. "Was her name Youko?" Mezumi's eyes widened as she looked at him intently.

"Yes... it was." He took a deep breath and shook his head as he let it out.

"No, no. It's too much for it to be a coincidence." He spoke more to himself than to her.

"What are you talking about? Did you know my mother? Did you meet my father?"

"I certainly knew your mother and I... I am your father." She recoiled and took a step back.

"My name is Yoshihiro. I was on Arch Island almost 19 years ago. I developed a relationship with a local named Youko. I knew from this poster you must have been her child. You look exactly like her except for the eyes. You have my eyes. Her eyes..."

"Stop!" She shouted loud enough to make her ears ring. Mezumi gritted her teeth so tight she could have sworn a tooth cracked. She balled her fists and narrowed her eyes at Yoshihiro. "How..." She lifted her left fist in the air. "Dare..." She took a step forward. "You?" The trio around her could feel the waves of malice rolling off of her. "How dare you come find me after all these years? You left both of us to rot on that fucking piece of rock they call an island. You knocked her up and left her with that bastard Katsuo! You couldn't handle your responsibilities then and you sure as hell don't deserve them now. How dare you find me after you ran out on my mother the second you knew about me? 18 years! 18 fucking years on that hell of an island you left me on!" Her vision was clouded in red. She drew Kouki, settling it in both hands like a sword. If she had been in her right mind, she would have thought to change it into a useful weapon. But she could only think of the torture she had been subjected to on that island. She felt the injustice of her mother being left alone and scared with a monster like Katsuo. "I should beat you into a bloody fucking pulp!" Her muscles were locked up from the force of her rage. But she forced a foot forward towards her target. He held his hands up in a non threatening manner.

"I didn't know about you till I saw your wanted poster." Mezumi stopped in her tracks. He took the opportunity to explain himself. "I had no idea I left Youko to raise our child alone. If I had known, I would have given up on being a pirate and stayed with her."

"Did you know about Katsuo?" Her ire had only dimmed slightly.

"I only met him once. He was a bastard back then too." She stood up straight after sheathing Kouki. She was still wary of Yoshihiro but she wanted answers and he was the only one that could give them to her.

"Follow me. I'm taking you up on your offer to talk alone." They proceeded down the stairs to her room.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

She allowed him in first before she walked in and shut the door. She sat at her desk and motioned for him to sit in the arm chair in the corner. He sat down with a sigh. Both parties stared at each other as questions roamed in their minds. With a pang she realized the man was right about her eyes. They were the exact shape and color as his. Her's only differing by having longer eyelashes.

"Tell me what happened back then, when you met my mother." Yoshihiro sat forward resting his elbow on his knees.

"The crew I was with at the time docked on the island for supplies. I met Youko when I was helping the cook buy supplies. She was employed as a saleswoman at the butcher's shop. We spent much of our time together while I was on the island. I tried not to get too close to her because I knew I would be leaving the island in a few days. Saying it was love at first sight sounds like a terrible cliche. But that is what it was. That was about the time Katsuo approached me. He told me he wanted Youko to be his and I should disappear from her life. Of course neither of us headed his warning. We spent all of our time together even the last few nights before I left. I asked her to come with me. She could have escaped Katsuo and his advances. But she was so incredibly stubborn." He shook his head and smiled fondly. "She was adamant that Katsuo would give up eventually. She said that a pirate ship was no place for a domestic girl like herself to build a life upon. She was happy with the time we had together and she wouldn't ask me to give up on being a pirate to live a domestic life with her. I can only assume that is why she never tried to tell me about you in the next few months. So, I left. I never heard anything about you or her till I saw this poster." He poked at the lump in his pocket.

"Can I see it?" He dug out the paper and handed it to her. She unfolded it and stared at the description.

"What happened when I left? You said she died..."

"...Giving birth to me, yes. It was actually Katsuo's fault that she went into an early labor. He showered her with gifts when you left. He tried to bribe her to become his wife. He accidentally gave her a devil fruit. When she ate it it caused too much stress on her pregnant body. She died and I got the power of the devil fruit instead of her. Katsuo called it mercy when he allowed me to live. He spread rumors of the worst kind about me. I was shunned by the entire village as a monster. They hated me and forced me to starve. They denied me every possible opportunity for a normal life." Her tone was detached and almost bored as if she were talking about someone else. "By the time Sanji found me I was severely emaciated from starvation. They tried to get me to join their crew but I only accepted after Katsuo tried to kill me. I know now he only did that to prevent me from leaving and having a better life. If I stayed on the island he could continue with his perverse and unjust punishment. That was about two and a half weeks ago." She looked into his eyes. Pity and remorse for his unknown actions consumed him.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what I have done. If I had known..." He put his head in his hands. It was his fault, not Katsuo's, that she had lived alone and unwanted. He had condemned the only woman he loved and their only child. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. They threatened to spill over till he was shocked out of his train of thought.

"I forgive you." He looked up to see a smile so reminiscent of the woman he loved. "My past wasn't exactly desirable. But I don't blame you for what happened."

"You can come with me. You have finally been brought back to me. You can sail the seas with my crew and I can teach you everything I know. I've missed 18 years of your life but I can be there for you now if you join me. I would like the opportunity to be your father."

She sighed as her face held a sorrowful expression. She set down her wanted poster on her desk. All her life she had dreamed of meeting her parents but now that her father was here, ready to finally build a relationship with her, she didn't know what to say to him. She would love the opportunity to leave with him and learn from the man she had wished was in her life. But faced with the decision...

"I can't go with you. My friends here were the first people to show me compassion and care for me. They took me in when I had no where to go. This was the first place that I ever felt like I belonged. They even build this place specifically for me." She waved a hand around, gesturing to the room. "They have given me so much, more than I ever dared to dream. Even if I wanted to leave, I would feel like I would leave a part of myself behind."

"Somehow I knew I wouldn't convince you. You are so much like your mother." He stood up and gently took her hand for her to stand up as well. He embraced her suddenly. He brought her head to his chest and stroked her hair gently. "If you will forgive me for saying this, either much too early or much too late, I love you musume." Her hands wrapped around him, holding him close. She didn't mind what he said. She didn't feel comfortable enough to use such a strong word. But she settled for what she thought was a close second.

"Otou-san."

Recognizing Yoshihiro as her father was important to both of them. By her calling him by his proper title she was telling him she was accepting him into her life, despite the fact that they would soon be parting ways. They stood there for several minutes, embracing each other. They detached slowly with sorrowful smiles adorning their faces.

"There is one more thing I wanted to know. Why are they calling you an alchemist? You said you had devil-fruit powers. Is that what the poster is referring to?"

"Yes. I'm not sure who came up with "Alchemist Mezumi" but I suppose it is an apt description of my abilities. I can basically control atoms, which make up everything. I can move them around and I can change an atom of a substance into a completely different substance." His eyebrows raised in astonishment. She held her palm out flat. Concentrating, she produced a gold bar out of thin air and then made it disappear. She pulled Kouki out of it's holder and watched as he observed it. "My friends gave this to me. It's really just an ordinary piece of metal but, when I can control it at will..." She shifted it into a sword. "I can make anything I want with it." She shifted it back to a cylinder and slid it back into it's home on her right leg. Yoshihiro had a strange gleam of pride in his eyes.

"I'm glad you can defend yourself. Even with friends as strong as your's, the grand line is very dangerous. I hope you go out and have plenty of stories to tell me when we meet again."

"You're leaving already?" She knew he couldn't stay with her forever but he had only just got here.

"I convinced my Captain to wait here so I could meet you. He only gave me till tonight to find you. If I am not on my ship at dark they will sail on without me. Captain Eiji has never been a patient man."

"Will you stay long enough to meet my friends?" She looked uncertain. Relationships between human beings were still new territory to her. Introducing her father to her friends would be an ordeal.

"I would love to." She beamed up at him. She quickly had everyone assembled on deck for what she believed was going to be an awkward moment.

"I wanted to introduce you all to my otou-san. It turns out a few things I thought I knew about him were lies. I just wanted him to meet all the people that were important to me." She pointed out each crew member and stated their name. He walked up to Zoro with narrowed eyes. Zoro's usual mask of grumpy indifference was invaded by confusion and slight curiosity.

"You had better take care of my musume, boy. You protect her and you make her happy for as long as you are with her. If I find out you hurt her in anyway, you won't live long enough to regret it. I only just found her and I am not going to lose her." Zoro looked more confused, embarrassed and a bit horrified. Mezumi had turned a deep shade of crimson.

"O-Otou-san, I am not 'with' anyone." Her voice was drowned out by Zoro's much louder exclamation.

"I'm not dating her. The shit cook is the one with his eye on her." Zoro jerked his thumb over his right shoulder at the blonde a few paces away. Yoshihiro abandoned Zoro with an apologetic look. He walked up to Sanji in the same manner he had just done to Zoro. He studied Sanji for a moment. They spoke quietly to avoid being over heard.

"Is it true you have your eye on my dear musume?" His eyes were slightly narrowed.

"It would be a lie to say no. You should know I have the utmost respect for her." Yoshihiro recalled his name.

"Sanji. She mentioned you were the one that saved her."

"I suppose you could say that. I found her when she was sick and brought her to our doctor. I helped to nurse her back to health."

"Are you interested in her romantically?"

"Yes I am." Yoshihiro looked very serious.

"Don't make the same mistake I did. Letting the opportunity slip by would be the biggest mistake of your life. Don't let such a precious woman walk out of your life." Sanji nodded. Yoshihiro offered Sanji his hand. Sanji shook it firmly. They raised their voices back to their normal pitch.

"Thank you for the advice."

"I will sleep soundly at night knowing you will be there for her."

She put her face in her hands. This man had been a father for almost an hour and he was already a professional at embarrassing his daughter.

"Wait! Why do I get the death threats?" Zoro shouted indignantly. Yoshihiro ignored him as he embraced Mezumi again.

"I love you. Good bye my dear musume. Until we meet again."

"Good bye otou-san." He kissed the top of her head and ran off back to his ship. Everyone separated on the ship as she watched him till he ran out of sight. She felt like crying. She had met and said good bye to her father in the same hour. Holding back her tears she reflected on the events of the day. She suddenly remembered she was going to make a gift for Sanji. She had just thought of the perfect gift. She cupped her hands so her palms faced each other. That served as a pocket large enough for the box she was about to create. Concentrating hard, she opened her hands to reveal a shiny box with a crease around the middle. The box was smaller than her little finger. Just large enough to hold the present inside. She felt elated at her success in concieving and creating a gift. She walked off to find Sanji.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

She found Sanji just as he was bringing pans out to make dinner. The awkwardness of her father's visit had not yet dissipated.

"Hello Sanji-kun."

"Mezumi-chan, to what do I owe the honor of your visit?" He smiled politely at her.

"I wanted to thank you for taking such good care of me. So, I got you something." She held out the tiny metal box.

"If this is a proposal I would suggest you get down on one knee." He teased her. She blushed hard.

"Just open it." She couldn't help but smile at his joke. He took the box and opened it. Sanji was surprised to find two solid gold cuff links engraved with an 'S'. "I wanted to get you something today but I couldn't find anything in town. So I made you these. Do you like them?"

How could he not like them? They were a thoughtful gift from her. That alone was enough. She was waiting for an answer. Suddenly, Yoshihiro's words surfaced in his mind. 'Don't let such a precious woman walk out of your life.' He had done nothing to let her know he was interested in her. If he waited too long to show her his true feelings, he may find it was too little, too late. He attached them to his cuffs. Sanji gently grabbed her chin and guided her to look him in the eye. Their faces were barely an inch apart.

"I love them." Mezumi blushed even harder. Sanji slid his hand to the side of her face and leaned closer to her.

The kitchen door slammed open. "Sanji! I want meat!" They broke apart quickly when Luffy and Nami walked in.

"Luffy you just got done eating. I don't know how you can possibly still be hungry." Mezumi retreated to her room. She sat at her desk with her head in her hands. She looked for a good distraction among all the papers and books littering her desk. Among the papers on her desk she had a few chemical formulas that she and her aniki were working on. She had borrowed a few books from the library. They were being kept on her desk waiting to be read. She passed a few minutes reading a book called "The Science of Ship Building."

"It looks like you are hiding from someone." Robin surprised her. She was so embarrassed with herself.

"I gave Sanji a gift and then I ran away." She groaned.

"You cannot hide forever. We have two more days before the log pose resets." She certainly wanted to try hiding for as long as possible. Feeling defeated, she went to dinner. She discussed armoring the ship with her aniki.

"If we could plate the whole ship in metal that would make it much harder to destroy. Under cannon fire the wood will shatter in a million pieces."

"You are right imoto. But the problem with a metal ship is: it won't float."

So you could have an indestructible ship but it would be at the bottom of the ocean." Mezumi frowned. She picked at her food while she was deep in thought. Nami informed them about the climates and the next island through the rest of the meal. She let everyone know they had two more days till they set sail.

Mezumi waited till everyone cleared out of the kitchen and Sanji was alone cleaning up the dishes. She approached him.

"I... I'm sorry I ran away from you."

"It's my fault. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have...when you weren't ready."

"It's not your fault Sanji-kun. I was just trying to tell you something. I'm just... scared to voice it."

"Mezumi-chan, you can tell me anything."

"Sanji-kun... I..."

"Wait. I know I haven't been exactly... decisive when it comes to you. I wanted to let you know what my intentions were. I would prefer to do it properly." He swallowed down his uncertainty. "Mezumi-chan would you go to dinner with me tomorrow as my date?" She blinked briefly. Her smile lit up her face.

"I would love to Sanji-kun."

"Great. Be ready at 7 o'clock tomorrow night." They both left after a short good bye. Neither would get much sleep tonight. Both parties were too anxious for tomorrow night to come.

The next morning she arranged for Franky and Usopp to meet her in Franky's workshop to continue with their experiments. They were attempting to find a formula for a much stronger black powder. Truthfully, Franky and Usopp could have done it on their own. But it was much easier to tweak the sample's formula with Mezumi's help. Without her they would have to mix a new batch for every new experiment. A few beakers sat in the corner containing the failed experiments. In front of them stood a table with a ring stand holding a small sample of their newest combination of black powder. They carefully balanced it on a piece of paper held on wire gauze as a flaming Bunsen burner waited. After nearly setting the ship ablaze with their 7th experiment, Usopp insisted they crouch behind an upturned table for cover. They kept their eyes covered. Usopp had his goggles, Franky had his sun glasses and Mezumi wore a pair of safety goggles. Usopp flipped through their notebook for their current page.

"Experiment 38. Half a gram of the sample to be ignited over Bunsen burner." Usopp read over their expectations that would prove or disprove their hypothesis. He closed the notebook with a snap.

"Alright experiment 38 in 3... 2..." Franky nudged the sample over the Bunsen burner and drew his hand back. They watched carefully as the paper slowly caught fire. A bright red flame shot up 5 inches as the sample poofed out of existence, leaving a large cloud nearly 3 feet long. They all shouted with joy at their success. They made a substance much more potent than black powder in just a few weeks.

"What should we call it? It isn't black powder anymore." Usopp inquired.

"How about red powder because it burns bright red?"

"Great idea imoto."

"Excuse me boys I have something I need to get ready for." She waved to them as she walked out. She left them looking slightly confused.

Mezumi finished bathing and went to her bed room to get ready for her date. She couldn't stop the smile that bloomed across her face at the thought. She closed the door only to have it open again a few seconds later.

"I thought I would find you here." Nami closed the door behind her.

"Did you need something Nami?"

"Nope. I am just here to help you get ready for your date." Thinking she must have heard about it from Sanji, she didn't question her.

"Thank you Nami. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I don't know what to wear."

"Well then, you are lucky to have me then. Let's get started." Nami had sat her down in front of the vanity and started to apply make up from Nami's personal stash. Nami had her close her eyes as she worked on her eyes and then her lips. She opened her eyes again when Nami was done with her eyes.

"This lip stick is actually just a temporary stain. You won't have to worry about it coming off when you eat, drink or kiss." Nami winked at her as she blushed.

"Nami, it's just dinner." She didn't reply as she held out her dress on its hanger and, to Mezumi's surprise, she held a tiny piece of fabric in her other hand.

"I am not wearing that."

"It's just a pair of panties..."

"Those don't have enough fabric to be considered any article of clothing, let alone panties." She opened the drawer she kept her underwear in. She was horrified to find that all of her plain underwear had been replaced with frilly scraps of thin fabric. Mezumi rounded on the mischievous woman.

"What did you do with my underwear?

"They were conveniently misplaced. Maybe just for the night or maybe forever. I haven't decided yet."

"Well 'conveniently' place them back in my drawer. I am not going to wear that."

"The way I see it you can either wear these..." She shook the tiny piece of black fabric. "Or you can go without. Those are your only options. Mezumi grumbled her displeasure. She undressed and snatched the object out of her hand. She pulled it on grudgingly, thankful it was not a thong. They were just a black, lacy bikini style. She did think they looked nice, but she didn't have to like them. She reached for the dress next and pulled it on over her head.

She had forgotten how beautiful the dress was. It covered enough of her so she didn't feel naked but it showed enough for a tasteful sort of sexiness. Nami had her sit down again as she tamed her wavy hair. She added the accessories Nami handed her and donned a pair of silvery high heels and stood to look at herself in the mirror. She felt like a new person. She also felt giddy to have a reason to dress up. She felt beautiful. She thought back to Zoro's reaction to her wearing the dress in the shop. She only hoped Sanji's reaction would be similar. Realizing it was nearly 7 o'clock, she headed down to meet him on deck.

He was adjusting the cuff links she had given him when he looked up. He was stuck dumb at the sight of her.

Her lips were a darker pink and her eyes were shadowed in soft green. Her hair was settled into a pony tail. Letting the natural waves in her white hair flow down her back. A few shorter strands framed her face as they hung loose. Her bangs swept to one side gently to complete the simple look. Around her neck was a small white gold and diamond necklace and a matching bracelet around her left wrist. The dress was nothing short of stunning on her. It caressed her skin in a way that made him suddenly jealous. He had a rare view of her legs. His eyes traveled from her silver high heels all the way up to a teasing view of bare thigh. It took him several seconds before he realized he had been ogling her like a parched man would look at an oasis. He shook his head to clear the thoughts surfacing in his mind. He scolded himself. He was a gentleman and would treat her with the respect any lady deserved.

He already wore a suit everyday but he had changed it slightly for the occasion. He still wore his black pants and shoes but in place of his double-breasted suit he wore a black suit jacket which buttoned in the center. Under his jacket he wore a light blue buttoned shirt adorned with a tie. He also added the cuff links she had given him.

"You're beautiful." his voice was low and slightly husky. She smiled nervously at him as tingles ran up her spine.

"Thank you. You look very handsome in that." Sanji held out his arm for her to take. She could do nothing to wipe the smile off her face.

"Shall we?" She held onto his arm gently. They walked slowly across the dock and into the market place. She had been wrong about the market place being the only part of the town devoid of prostitutes. It seemed this is where the high priced woman worked. Her eyes alighted on a beautiful woman dressed in a stunning and sexy black dress. She was disarmingly gorgeous with her hair done up and her make up carefully applied. Looking down at herself, she felt the smile disappear from her face. In this dress, in this part of town she must have looked like a whore with her client.

"You are more beautiful than any of them. No need to look so down." She looked up to realize he had been staring at her as she was thinking.

"It's not just that." She saw a few men leering at her. Her voice was so small when she spoke. "They must think I am some kind of..." She didn't want to say the word. It felt as if saying it out loud would confirm her fears.

"You are nothing like them. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. You know who you are and that is more than enough. Be proud of who you are." She blushed lightly as she smiled at his words. They continued onto their destination which happened to be a five star restaurant known as 'Lady Luck'. The named called attention to the fact that it was right next to a high class casino. She had to commend this island for having just about everything. The restaurant was fairly empty as clients on the island would visit well into the night.

They were seated quickly by the hostess. Their waiter came promptly as he took Sanji's order for dinner and wine.

"This place is beautiful. What prompted you to ask me on a date tonight?"

"Actually it was something your father said to me. He mentioned something about not letting an opportunity slip by." She sat in silence for a moment, thinking over his words. "What made you forgive your father? I thought he ran out on your mother when he found out about you."

"That was just another lie from Katsuo to hurt me. He didn't know about me till he saw my wanted poster."

"The world government put a bounty on you too? How much?" She must have forgotten to tell everyone.

"25 million beli." Sanji laughed.

"Great, that means our bounty is up to 625 million and 50 beli. Wait till Luffy hears that. He will be so excited." She felt the need to share something with him.

"My father wanted me to join him in his travels. He said we could finally be a family if I would join the shadow pirates. But I refused. I didn't want to leave the first place I could call home. Even then he still told me he loves me. I didn't tell him I loved him. It didn't feel right but I still feel guilty."

"I think he understands. He knows he can't build a relationship with you in one day. He did seem overjoyed that you were willing to see him again and acknowledge him as your father. I think he is waiting for you to be more comfortable with the idea. He only knew you for an hour at most and he already knows you are worth the wait."

There was a lull in the conversation as they thought of topics of conversation. Sanji was the first to find one. "Have you given any more thought about what your dream will be?" She remembered when he asked about her dream before. He had told her of his dream of finding the All Blue and she said she didn't have a dream.

"I have been thinking about what to strive for. I thought a little bit about opening an orphanage. I could take in any neglected or unwanted children and give them a place to belong before they find a home of their own. They will either be adopted or they can grow up at the orphanage till they are old enough to move out. I think it's a great idea but I'm still deciding on what should be my dream." Truthfully it was not another what that had her undecided but rather a who.

"That sounds excellent." Their food was delivered. A beautifully plated meal was placed before her as Sanji tested the wine from the waiter. He declared it perfect and the waiter quickly poured two glasses for them.

"I would have made you dinner myself but I wanted us to be alone. I knew that would never happen back in my kitchen."

"It's alright. I have never been to a restaurant this elegant." Sanji thought back to something that had been nagging at the back of his mind.

"Why did your father assume you were dating the marimo?"

"Zoro-kun and I were shopping in town yesterday. I was holding onto his arm so we wouldn't get separated in the more seedy parts of town. I was still holding onto him as we arrived on Sunny where otou-san saw us." Sanji's face was furrowed in disappointment.

"Is there anything going on between you?" He sounded as jealous as he felt. But if she preferred the shitty swordsman over him... Well, he wasn't sure if he would fight for her attention or just stand back to let her choose whatever path made her happy. Mezumi giggled lightly at the jealousy in his eyes.

"No, there is nothing going on between me and Zoro-kun. I asked him to accompany me into town to protect me."

"I would have gone to protect you if you had asked." He still felt slightly hurt. 'She must think I am weaker than that idiot swordsman.'

"I went into town to buy you a gift. If you had come with me it would have spoiled the surprise. I also know I could have chosen anyone from the crew to go with me for those reasons. I asked him because I wanted to pick the gift on my own. Everyone else would have given me ideas or just asked too many questions. Zoro-kun doesn't often give advice or ask questions. He protected me and I bought him lunch. That's all he cared about." He sighed, finally understanding her reasoning. She smiled. "You pout in the most adorable way when you are jealous." He wanted to say that men were not adorable in any way. He was a gentleman and he was manly. Instead he just took the compliment. They had finished their meal and the waiter inquired about dessert.

"No, thank you." Mezumi's stomach was already stretched from dinner. She didn't want to push it by adding more food. The waiter quickly left the bill on their table and wished them a pleasant evening. Sanji laid money in the envelope and they left it with the hostess. A brush of cold sea air rushed past them as Sanji opened the door for her. He saw goose bumps appear on her naked back ahead of him and worried about her state of undress. Outside, he pulled off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders before she could protest.

"I don't want you getting sick. I've already seen that one too many times." He referenced seeing her emaciated body weeks ago. She couldn't argue with him.

"Thank you." Taking his arm again, they walked towards the docks in silence. They could see the moon playing in the water from the deck. The stars in the sky winked at them after the sun disappeared from the sky. Deep blues and soft whites engulfed their vision, gracing them with a beautiful view to end a wonderful night.

"This seems like a scene from a romance story I once read. A chivalrous man on a wonderful date with wonderful scenery..."

"How did their night end?" He asked it so casually. She was so caught up in the details of the book that she was currently unaware of the parallels to real life. They stopped outside the door from the womens' bed room.

"They kissed and said good night." The sentence was sobering, causing her to come back to reality to what she had just suggested to him. Her mind was incapable of any intelligent thought once her eyes alighted on his face. His eyes held her with passion and wonder in their depths. He told himself he would not make the same mistake he had made before. He had tried to kiss her in thanks for her gift. She was caught unaware by his sudden action and she ran away from him. He was not going to force her into another kiss like that again. Sanji leaned forward bringing their lips closer and closer together. He stopped barely an inch away. He was staring straight into her eyes, trying to indicate with his action what he wanted.

Several tense seconds past as she realized what he was doing. He was telling her how he wanted their night to end but he was letting her decide. The decision was all too easy. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. His lips were firm and he tasted like wine. He took her response as permission to proceed. He moved his lips against hers gently as his hands slid around her back. She lifted her arms around his neck, causing his jacket to fall off her shoulders and onto the ground. He pulled her against him and licked her bottom lip tentatively. Her body felt so soft against him. Realizing what he wanted, she opened her mouth and ran her tongue across his lip as well. His hand caught the back of her neck as he tilted her head back for a better angle. Caught in so intimate an embrace, she couldn't help but let out a soft moan. He growled low in his chest as he heard her. She would have fallen due to her suddenly weak knees, had it not been for their tangled embrace. He pushed his lips hard into hers. The simple action had her shivering from the overwhelming passion. They broke apart to gasp for air. Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked up at him. The look of love and passion in his glazed eyes nearly had her moaning all over again. But her lungs were too busy getting oxygen to her clouded mind. Almost half a minute later they were breathing normally. They were still caught in each other's eyes and neither had moved an inch. Mezumi recovered enough to speak.

"Thank you for tonight. It was wonderful. Goodnight Sanji." She gave him a chaste kiss on his lips and detached from him.

"Goodnight Mezumi." He waited till she closed the door then he picked up his jacket. He folded it over his arm and walked away. He had to commend himself for not loosing control. His traitorous body had nearly given up on every ideal he had. Had it not been for his chivalrous spirit he might have pinned her against the wall and... 'No, no, no.' He stopped that train of thought and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He attempted to focus on the fact that he had not given in to his body's demands. He would never allow himself to force himself upon any woman. Especially not Mezumi. She was a once in a lifetime kind of woman. She was so unique. She was so gentle and tough. She was highly intelligent but equally ignorant in the ways of the world. He had fallen for the most selfless and loving woman in existence. And she had fallen for him too. He felt giddy.

Neither of them could wipe the grins from their faces as they undressed and climbed in bed.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

They set sail early the next morning. Everything was going smoothly until they were 3 hours into their journey.

"Ship approaching!" Zoro shouted from the crow's nest. Everyone hurried outside. Not far behind them a pirate ship was gaining on them quickly. Making a path to intercept them.

"What's going on?" Chopper looked nervous.

"I don't know but I bet they aren't here to be friends." Nami didn't look optimistic. Everyone mentally prepared themselves and attempted to stay calm. The ship was along side them when grappling hooks were thrown out to pull the ships together. A board was thrown out to form a path way. Several men came aboard their ship. Mezumi's eyes widened.

"Hello sweetheart." Leering at her was the man that had confronted her and Zoro in the bar yesterday. "I bet you thought you had seen the last of me. You see the last time I saw you, you said a few things that got me thinking. So I did a little digging. I found out that all of you were on the island. Very big bounty for all of you. But what was more interesting was the newest bounty set by the world government." One of his lackeys held up a wanted poster with her picture on it. "Just like everyone else I'm out to be famous and make money. So here is the deal. You come with me and I let your friends live."

"We won't let you take her!" Luffy shouted.

"Well now that is where you are wrong. See, I have powers too. As long as I stay still I can control your movements. Since the moment I stepped on your ship I was in control of all of you." He turned back to Mezumi. "You get on my ship and I won't kill your friends. That offer is more than generous."

"Why do you want me? Like you said my bounty is just 25 million why not take everyone?"

"I know how strong you're friends are. If I take them they can easily over power my crew. You see it's not about the bounty. If I take you, you can make me gold until I am the richest man alive. All the reward and no risk." At that moment all cannons and guns aimed for them. One man held a sword to Luffy's neck. "I will release you from my hold, girl. Now choose."

She looked at her friends. She didn't have a choice. She stepped forward.

"Mezumi-chan, No!"

"Imoto, Stop!"

"You saved me. And now I can save you." She couldn't look at them. "If I say no he will kill you and take me anyway. At least this way you can all live you're dreams." She looked up at Sanji. She tried to make him understand by just a look. "You once told me that everyone here would give up their dream so another could fulfill theirs." Tears started to stream down her face. "You were my dream Sanji." He couldn't speak. He couldn't move. But he felt like he was being torn apart from the inside.

One of the men held a gun to Mezumi's head. "If anyone moves a muscle, everyone dies."

Sanji never stopped looking into her eyes. He wasn't sure what was strongest in her eyes: fear, strength, love or heartbreak. But what disturbed him most was the pitiful look on her face. She looked like she had given up. She was resolute in her decision. Her expression told him there was nothing he could say that would stop her.

Boarding the ship Mezumi didn't take her eyes off Sanji until he couldn't be seen anymore. Sanji watched as the only woman he ever loved sailed out of his life, never to be seen again.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

On the Thousand Sunny

No one moved. No one spoke. They stared at the sea where the ship had left their eyesight. Sanji snapped first.

"We have to go after her. She can't do this." Sanji looked frantic.

"Franky, I think it's about time we caught up. We have to get our friend back." Luffy gave the order. Franky smiled and ran below deck. Nami began barking out orders for direction. Everyone ran around getting ready. The wind was hitting the sails just right and Franky used the ship's machinery to get them an extra boost of speed.

'I'm coming Mezumi.' Sanji waited on deck.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back with Mezumi.

"So sweetheart I suggest you start making me a big pile of gold. I'm going to need it soon if I am going to spend it on the next island." A crew member approached her with several very large empty bags. "Fill these with gold by sunset and I will consider not throwing you to my crew at night." No wonder there were so many bags. They were hoping she would fail. The crew leered at her, imagining things she didn't want to know about. She repressed a shiver. This only gave her more reason to execute her plan.

"If I may Captain? That sounds a little too... ordinary." The Captain rounded on her.

"Are you questioning my orders girl?"

"Not at all Captain. I was merely suggesting something more extraordinary."

"I'm listening." She walked around the Captain trying to convince him with dramatics.

"Captain you say you want to be famous. But you seem to think that vast wealth will make you famous. Wealthy individuals spend money left and right and they are not as well known as you aspire to be. I suggest you do something that no one else has done. Posses something no one else has ever had the ability to posses before. I have the ability not just to make gold. But to make it from anything. Any substance and any shape." She rounded on the captain.

"Any amount of money would seem inconsequential when I could make you a golden ship. You would be the envy of all. Think of the fame Captain. The wealth, the envy, the women..." It was much too easy.

"I have decided. Make this ship gold."

"As you wish Captain." She stood with her hands on the railing.

She had already given up. She had a plan that would ensure the safety of her friends. She would make sure none of her kidnappers would go back to hurt them. Unfortunately for her, her plan did not include her making it back to her friends or Sanji.

She had been making gold for years. She was very quick at making it now. Starting from the bottom she began working. The men watched her with fascination. The rigging began to creak and whine. It stopped soon when the metal took over. Under their feet the deck changed to solid gold. The crew was rejoicing. They hollered and shouted their good fortune. Everyone was suddenly thrown back when the ship began to lean back. Her plan worked perfectly. The ship was sinking. The crew started scrambling about trying to get to the life boats; only to find that they had met the same fate as their ship. The captain ran to her, outraged. He grabbed Mezumi by the throat in one strong, greasy hand. He lifted her into the air.

"You, what have you done?"

Mezumi's voice came out distorted from the pressure on her throat. "'The problem with a metal ship is: it won't float.'" She smiled as she quoted her aniki. "You can have your gilded ship but it will be at the bottom of the ocean." The captain back handed her so hard she fell over the side and into the water. Being a power holder, she began to sink. She saw the ship sinking rapidly. She thought of Sanji. She knew he would go on to fulfill his dream.

'Sanji, I hope you remember me.' Seeing his face in her mind's eye she smiled. Her eyes closed and her life slipped away as the under tow forced her to the bottom.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 16

The water pulled her one way and then another. Something settled on her stomach and pushed inward. That something must have caught her and pulled her down to the sea below. She felt so heavy resting against the sea floor. Something hard pressed at her chest. It dug into her ribs painfully. She was glad when the pressure released itself. But she was disappointed when it came back full force a second later. Her lungs burned and her mind was fuzzy.

"Mezumi!"

Why did it hurt so much to be dead? The weight on her chest would not let up for longer than a second. Her lungs burned more.

"Mezumi!"

She thought she heard Sanji's voice. Had she been sent here to be tortured? To hear the man she loved but have no way of reaching him? She died to save her friends. Why would that be the reason for this unbearable torture?

"Mezumi, don't leave me!"

She rolled sideways and coughed up water. Gulping in precious air, she did not take notice of her surroundings. Two hands slid behind her back and her neck. They lifted her up till she was face to face with Sanji. He was soaking wet and still dripping. His face held an expression of unparalleled joy.

"You're alive." She managed a smile.

"Sanji." She placed her hand behind his head and brought his lips to hers. The kiss was filled with passion and adrenalin. It lasted for what felt like hours. They broke apart when her lungs began to burn again. "You saved me."

"Let's not make it a habit."

"I love you Sanji. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"I love you Mezumi. I love you." They kissed again.

"What happened?" She looked around to see Nami speaking.

"I turned the ship to gold. They were excited till they realized it was sinking."

"You sacrificed yourself so we would be safe." Usopp was incredulous.

"You need to rest. Can you get to the sick bay?" Chopper was concerned for her health. She was drowning just a few minutes ago.

"I don't think I can move yet."

"Not a problem." Sanji lifted her up in his arms and left for the sick bay.

"This brings back such fond memories." She smiled at her sarcasm.

"Yes it does. The last time we did this was when I fell for you." Her eyes widened.

"You cared for me that long?" He only nodded as he laid her gently in bed. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and pulled up a chair. She grabbed his hand after he settled down in the chair.

"I think everyone has a new found respect for you." He thought for a moment. "Was I the reason you were unsure of your dream?"

"Yes. I didn't want to tell you yet because I thought it would push you away. I want to be there when you find the all blue. You can open a restaurant but I want to open an orphanage. I want to make sure no children lived the way I did."

"I love that idea. We can fulfill our dreams together. When you left, the thought of living without you was unbearable. I can't imagine my future without you now."

"I am here to stay now. I am here for you forever."

"Forever." They kissed once more.


End file.
